For the past few years I have tried to choose a word that I was going to set as a goal in my life that year. This year’s word was Wholeness. I started the year with a desire to learn what that meant for my life.

The dictionary definition of the word Wholeness is:

• the state of forming a complete and harmonious whole; unity.
• the state of being unbroken or undamaged.

Now, looking back, do I feel I have achieved a level of Wholeness based on the definitions I have just given? The simple answer is no. Circumstances that have occurred this year have broken and damaged me so much.

The definition given by the Merriam Webster dictionary is:

A : free of wound or injury: UNHURT; recovered from a wound or injury: RESTORED; being healed

B: free of defect or impairment: INTACT

C: physically sound and healthy: free of disease or deformity

D: mentally or emotionally sound

Using the above definitions, I could say I have achieved a level of wholeness this year. I am in a state of recovering from physical injuries. Through all the hurt that has occurred this year there has been a level of healing taking place. I am free from defect or impairment, I am free of disease and deformity. I would like to think I am mentally sound and, on the way, to being emotionally sound.

I need to be honest with you, I started out the year with good intentions of letting this desire for wholeness be my focus, but it got lost along the way among the trials of life. I would say that while I desired wholeness I probably had one of the worst years of my life. But as I reflect, maybe that was part of my journey to being whole?

The bible talks about God taking us through a process of pruning, where he removes parts of your life that aren’t good for you or aren’t fruitful. This process can be painful as friends, family, jobs, material things, opportunities are removed from your life. At the time it can be so confusing but looking back you can see it was for the best. This has been part of my journey this year.

The way we measure how much we’ve changed, can also depend on the definitions we compare them to, as you can see from the above definitions I used. If you use other people’s definitions of how you’ve changed, you could end up feeling pretty negative. If you measure yourself up to how the media say we should be living I can imagine, again, you will feel pretty disappointed. But if you use what God says about you and the plans he has for you in his word, I can guarantee that you will feel hopeful, loved and accepted.

I don’t believe that God is held back by human definitions, but as I sit reflecting on my word for the year, it has helped me see how far I have come, how some of that pruning was for the best. I believe that having some goals or a word for the year is a wonderful way to measure the improvement in your life. I would hope that every year of your life you are striving to be a better person, striving to be the best you can be, and I don’t believe you can do that without having goals or ways to measure how you are doing.

One of the most wonderful things about being a follower of Christ, a disciple, is knowing that I am in a process of sanctification. A process of being made or becoming holy. … To sanctify is to literally “set apart for particular use in a special purpose or work and to make holy or sacred.” God is constantly guiding and shaping me to be the best I can be.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 10:10 New King James Version (NKJV)

 

I don’t believe that a change of date or year is going to change anything in your life apart from the date and year. If you want real change in your life, then you need something that is much bigger than you. I believe that real change can only come from having a relationship with God. I don’t want to pass through this life living for the moment, but live a life of abundance, to live life to its fullest!

What goals are you going to set for the next year?

What changes are you going to make to be who you were called to be?

What will be your word for 2019?

Let’s keep pressing on to be who God created us to be!

Love

Amber

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