Words with Friends

So a lot of blogs are focusing on a word for 2012.
Some bloggers have put a lot of thought into their word. I am genuinely impressed with their 100 word description of their one, meaningful, inspiring word.

I guess I finally feel the need to explain my word for 2012:  hopeful.

How did my word find me?

I kind of decided in a kind of slump at the end of 2011 that I needed to change my point of reference a little.

I was so caught up in how quickly my kids are growing up, stressful work situations for both me and my hubby, and this generalized fear of the future, I kind of had to take a step back and re-evaluate some things that were stealing my joy.

I decided that I need to start to focus on the blessing and not the bitterness in life.

You know, focus on all that is "right" with my life, and not the few, seemingly overriding, things that are "wrong" or spiritually/financially/emotionally challenging in any given moment.

I pretty much dread the first two months of the year.

I am not sure why, but I think it's exactly because of today: it was cold, rainy, foggy, and bleak outside.
Everyone just seemed to be in a blah mood at work and everywhere else. I have several friends with very sick family members, and today there were several coworkers experiencing the same.

It just seemed kind of like a yucky day.

Maybe it's post-holiday blues?

But then I split the soup I brought for lunch with a coworker who forgot their lunch, and somehow the day brightened up a little.

A friend and a coworker texted/emailed me for prayer and shared they were praying for my hubby's first day of work at a new job.

It's so nice to know people care about your family, even when they are going through tougher stuff! The sun started shining on the inside, sure, there were still some shadows, but it was starting to clear up a little.

My hubby had a good day at work on his first day, and believe me that makes me feel very hopeful, because he had been pretty hopeless about his job situation for a LONG time.

I reheated the homemade vegetable soup I made last night and made some hot dogs to go with it, and we actually had some great laughs at the dinner table talking about our day. And we all smiled a little more despite the bleakness outside.

I am typing from my warm, cozy bed. My son is at the foot of the bed telling me funny stories about school friends while he plays new apps on his IPod. His laugh is the most hopeful sound I know.

My dog is nudged between my daughter and me sleeping, and he keeps my legs so warm it is making my eyelids droopy.

My daughter is playing Words with Friends on her IPod...and that is when it dawned on me.

Sharing our word for 2012 really is like a game of Words with Friends. We share our hearts in a word, and we read each other blogs searching for some meaning, some kind of connection, not just in our words, but in our lives.

And somehow, that makes me hopeful, too.

Because God can use social media for good sometimes, and I'm sure glad he does.