Your Word for the New Year

by Peggy Rice, Hope Coach Trainer for Fresh Hope

We’re several weeks into the New Year. (Maybe soon, I’ll stop writing 2024!) My Christmas decorations have been put away, I’m back home after visiting friends and family, and winter seems to stretch out forever to the horizon. January often feels like a very long month, especially after the hubbub of the weeks of Thanksgiving through New Year’s.

Did you make New Year’s Resolutions for 2025? According to different research sites I looked at, people keep their resolutions for anywhere between 18 days to 4 months. How are you doing with yours?

Or maybe you’re like me, and you didn’t make any. I don’t make official resolutions anymore – quite frankly, I was tired of failing. In my younger years, I’d plan to lose weight, or start exercising every day, or record my gratitudes daily (I’ve talked about this in earlier posts). The problem, I think, was that my resolutions were almost always something I was going to start on January 1, and do every day thenceforth. That’s just not realistic. From 0 days to every day? C’mon!

Several years ago, I latched onto a different approach to the New Year. One of choosing a word to represent what I wanted to build into my character. Or rather, what I hoped God would shape in me. To be more Gentle. To be more Patient. To Abide in Him. Those are just some examples of my previous Word for the Year.

In the past, I’ve taken a survey to help me find my word. (You can find such a survey at https://www.dayspring.com/yourwordquiz.) But this time, I believe that the Holy Spirit brought the word to me.

In my Time Alone with God (I call it TAWG – some people call it Quiet Time) before Christmas, I casually asked God to give me a word that I could focus on for 2025. I wasn’t earnestly seeking one – it was a thought that flitted across my mind as I was praying, so I mentioned it to the Lord. Almost immediately, I thought of the word “Trust.”

As that word kept repeating in my head, I began to pray about it. “Lord, is this what You want from me in the next year? That I would trust You more?” I kept asking God to make it clear to me. And “Trust” would pop into my head at all kinds of random times – as I was driving in the car, or waiting in the grocery line. It seemed like any time my mind would wander, the word “Trust” echoed in my thoughts.

So I began to pray about Trust. And I looked in the Bible to find references to it.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

“Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.”  Jeremiah 17:7 NLT

“But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3 NLT

“Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.” Psalm 37:5 NLT

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NIV (my personal life verse)

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all those whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 NLT

“This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.” Psalm 91:2 NLT

“But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NLT

It’s funny – so many of these verses were very familiar to me, but not particularly because of the word “Trust.” Many of them were verses that I had memorized about God’s hope, and peace, and strength. How surprising to me, as I was specifically looking for one word, and the references brought me verses I already knew!

On January 1, 2025, I wrote the following in my journal:

For 2025:

I will trust God, no matter what happens to my aging parents.

I will trust God and His timing for my prodigal children and their return to the Lord.

I will trust God with my marriage – that He will help it grow in Him.

I will trust God with the ministries He’s given me – Fresh Hope Group, Hope Coaching, Moms In Prayer Group for Prodigals, Bible Study.

I will trust God with the lives of those I love – that He is working in their lives.

I will trust God when I am afraid, or anticipating grief or worst-case-scenarios.

I will trust God to bring me into relationships with those He wants me to have.

So how can I apply the word “Trust” to my mental health?

I will trust God, that He is with me when I am feeling isolated and alone.

I will trust God, that He will give me His peace when I am feeling anxious.

I will trust God, that the things He says about me in His Scriptures are the truth, not the lies that my mental health challenge is telling me.

I will trust God, that He knows my heart is to love Him, even when I’m struggling to love myself.

I will trust God, that He hears me when I call on Him, and He will answer.

I will trust God, that He will help me do whatever I need to do today, no matter how small the step, and we will celebrate that victory of my steps toward mental health and away from mental illness.

I will trust God, that He will use my mental health journey in the lives of others, to be an encouragement to someone else who might be going through a similar circumstance.

I will trust God, that He will bring me through to a level of healing where I can live a hope-filled life, in spite of my mental health.

I discussed my word with a wonderful friend today – her word is Surrender. We decided that her word is a more nuanced and mature version of mine – I can trust God, but will I surrender whatever it is to Him? I like that. Maybe Surrender will be my word next year!

In order to remember my word beyond 18 days to 4 months, I bought a bracelet that says “TRUST.” I intend to wear it every day – is that a New Year’s Resolution?!

PS – if you want to, let me know in the comments what your word for the year is!

Peggy has been involved with Fresh Hope as a Group Facilitator for over 6 years and as the Hope Coach Trainer for over 4 years. She can be reached at peggy@freshhope.us.