Word for the Year: Savor

Each year I start out with good intentions, whether resolutions or words, that I hope will reflect the coming year, and each year I get distracted and those good intentions are forgotten. But here I am, once again, hoping that the power of intention will help guide me to a year that is better than the one before.

There were parts of 2016 that, for whatever reason, felt heavy and overwhelming. But when I look back at the year as a whole, I see that it really was a good year – some of the best days of my life.

The things that felt hard are now forgotten as I truly release them to the past and look forward to the future with a clean slate.

This year, I want to savor the life that I have.

savor
[sey-ver] 

verb (used with object)
1. to give a savor to; season; flavor.
2. to perceive by taste or smell, especially with relish: to savor the garden's odors.
3. to give oneself to the enjoyment of: to savor the best in life.

A friend who has older kids, recently told me that I am in a slow stage of life, and she is right. Sometimes I get frustrated at the slowness, but when I take time to savor and really relish the life I have been given, I know that I have been blessed beyond measure.

Whether it is a moment on the couch with Daniel where we set aside the distractions of the day to talk, or time on the playground with another mom who is the slow lane of parenting young kids alongside me, or the daily interactions with my boys where I try to focus on enjoying the stage they are in because I know that I will blink and this stage will be gone.

Like the fog on my mountain that suddenly disappears without my noticing it, the dirty diapers and endless games of I spy will be over and forgotten, and I will find myself missing the mess and the goodness that it brought. So this year I hope to savor the good and remind myself that the harder moments that the coming year has in store will not last forever.

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 

Psalm 37:3-4 

Words from previous years: 

Fortitude {2010} ~ Adaptation {2011} ~ Patience {2012}

Deliberate {2013} ~ Joy {2014} ~ Peace {2015} ~ Release {2016}