Last night while lying in bed I was thinking about the past and dreaming about the future. Most of my thoughts were led by loss. Sometimes it is the nighttime that brings on that melancholy feeling, and the questioning of our purpose? Shifting, I pushed my focus to the joy in my life, clinging to the present, while keeping thoughts of overwhelm at bay.

My heart breaks for those suffering, heartache has a way of seeping into all our lives. The days with my sister are a mixture of joy and heartbreak, where I am still uncovering how to tend to this relationship. Learning to let go of who we were and find strength in who we are today. Always searching for ways to make a difference in all our lives, I keep going.

2019 was my year of purpose. Spending my days with purpose, a year of doing things with purpose, a word I kept with me throughout the year. I enjoyed my year of purpose.  

Choosing my 2020 word took longer than it usually does. I vacillated through words searching for one that would fit the changes I planned to seek in 2020. With a new house in the New Year, health and fitness goals, marriage and family goals, faith and financial goals, I examined words like balance, grit & grace, lift, and countless others until I dug deeper.

There is no one thing I want to achieve in the next year, but there are many areas I want to strengthen, with my quest to work on the many goals I decided  my word would be  

STRENGTHEN 

• Strengthen my writing habit (write daily)
• Strengthen my body (mind, body, soul)
• Strengthen my faith (12 books of the bible)
• Strengthen my marriage (date nights)
• Strengthen my finances (more saving/less spending)

And of course the goals of running and reading will always be a part of my year. All the possibilities before me with a new home and a fresh start, I cannot wait to see what I can strengthen!

If you've never chosen a word to represent your year, you can find many posts on Ali Edwards blog as well as my past words HERE