A New Thing - Embracing A Word for 2014

It's New Year's Day. Early. From my bedroom window, I can see snow swirling down. The day is peaceful. The house is peaceful. The morning is too young for too much to go on.

I nestle close to Lonny and whisper something about coffee. He rolls over. The hardwood floors, I know, will not greet my feet warmly. So I stay put. And think...

A few of my friends claim a word each new year. A word to live by. A word to apply to life. A word to stretch around and stretch into. I've never tried. But I read a friend's blog recently, a post about her word for 2014...and it made me want to try, too.

What would my word be, Lord?

I ask, mostly for fun, not expecting a word, really.

And quiet comes to heart.

I smile. Quiet? I spend a great deal of energy trying not to be quiet. Trying to be more assertive. Trying to push past my natural bent to be reserved. Trying to speak out loud in a group or join a busy conversation or share my opinion when it may not blend.

Then there's my home.

No way to apply quiet here, most of the time. We're a bustling household of boyhood. Quiet is like trying to push a round peg into a square slot.

Did you mean quiet, Lord?

I pull the comforter high. Watch the snow shake past my window. It's captivating. Gentle. Easy. Slow.

It's quiet.

Maybe there is a way to live quiet in 2014.

Lord, will you quiet my fears?
Lord, will you quiet my worries?
Lord, will you quiet the self-doubt and sometimes, in this parenting time of life, the hurt?

Lonny rolls over. I hint at coffee again. He stands and trudges toward the kitchen.

I stay still, pull the pool of covers around me, and watch the wonder outside my window.

Yes, I think that quiet would be a precious thing.
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The LORD your God is with you. He is mighty enough to save you. He will take great delight in you. The quietness of his love will calm you down. He will sing with joy because of you.
Zephaniah 3:17 NIRV

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exalt over you with loud singing. 
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV