I love the concept of a word for the year, a particular purpose from God. What do You want from me in 2020, Lord? I need a word from You.
He heard and He answered, not with one word but a word and a phrase: Overcome and From Darkness to Light. Even as I write them, my spirit sighs with longing.
A few years ago I wrote a blog post to explain my tagline, Timid Warrior (https://kathleenfriesen.weebly.com/grace-notes---blog/fearless-me). Now, almost three years later, I still struggle at times to get past the Timid part. But I want to. I desire courage and wisdom. I long to radiate God’s love and grace so brightly that through me, He will bring loved ones “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
In September, my husband and I began renovating the house we bought about two years ago. It’s only twelve years old, but the design needed help and the décor was dismal. Picture the entire living area brown, the colour of hot chocolate without the sweetness of cream or marshmallows. The small kitchen had dark chocolate cabinets on three walls and a peninsula on the fourth. Add to that black appliances, a brown speckled counter top and curling brown laminate flooring—it was truly depressing. (And when I’m down, guess what I crave? Chocolate! But not on my walls.)
Long story short, the theme of our renovations has been “from darkness to light.” The living area walls are now a pale green, much brighter. While I (rather reluctantly) decided against the expense and hassle of painting the kitchen cabinets, we plan to add a white backsplash and marble-look counter tops.
When I traded the dark cabinet knobs for shiny brushed nickel replacements, the effect amazed me. Like pinpoints of light in a dark space, those small, new knobs make a big difference.
Like the light paint and shiny knobs, my desire for this year is to shine with God’s love, to bring light into the darkness around us, and to overcome evil with good. By God’s grace, 2020 is going to be a brilliant, amazing year.
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