For the past several years I've allowed the Holy Spirit to whisper a word to me for the coming year. It usually takes a few days, and trying a few words on for size.
As I narrowed it down, coddiwomple came in second place, but not far from first.
Coddiwomple: English slang. To travel purposefully toward an as-yet-unknown destination.
I liked it. So many ways to go with that. I sat with it for a few days and wondered, Can you use a word that isn't really a word as your word? Even as I type this, I'm thinking I might go back to second place.
But the word that came in first was resolve. It came to my attention as I was reading in Deuteronomy, from the Message Translation:
Attention, Israel. In a few minutes you're going to do battle with your enemies.
Don't waver in resolve. Don't fear. Don't hesitate. Don't panic.
God, your God, is right there with you, fighting with you against your enemies,
fighting to win.
Deuteronomy 20:3-4
Reading this last book of the Pentateuch, from this translation, I'm finding how much I love this book and Moses' last words to his people.
You see, there are some situations in my family that I've been doing some mighty battle over. And I love these reminders that just as God was with the Israelites when they fought physical battles with human armies, He is with me fighting spiritual battles. My jobs are to know that there is a spiritual battle, to be prepared, and to follow Him into the battle while not wavering in resolve, not living in fear, not hesitating or panicking.
Resolve: to settle or find a solution; to disperse, subside, or heal; to decide firmly on a course of action; to turn into a different form when seen more clearly; firm determination to do something
Synonym: Coddiwomple
Okay, I made that last part up. But... A firm determination to heal, find a solution, and do something through a decided course of action while traveling toward an as-yet-unknown destination to see something more clearly...sounds like the perfect word for 2019.
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