What God told me

And how He holds me.

A story

Can I tell you a story?

First the background. For the past five years I have incorporated a “word for the year” into my practice of prayer. Since then I’ve encountered a lot of people who do this as well. If that’s you, please hit reply to this email and let me know what your word is!

For those who are not as familiar with it, as a new year approaches, I ask the Lord for a word.

The word that I receive in prayer becomes something like an anchor point. I understand it to be an invitation and a promise, both at once. If my year were a song, it would be the refrain, the music that repeats and repeats and that brings clarity to the verses.

Last Year

Last year, the Lord gave me the word: trust. To be honest, it felt lame, run of the mill, uninteresting. But I knew that was it.

And then the Lord showed up. He revealed himself to me as my Good Shepherd. Over and over again he reminded me of His gentle care for me. He reminded me of His goodness, that I was seen - even though I didn’t feel seen.

He let me be the lost sheep, which was a gift because really I just wanted to be looked for, sought after, and cared for - I was worth leaving the 99 to be found. I was worth that.

In addition, there was an invitation to surrender - to give him my cares and fears and to say over and over again, “Jesus, I surrender *this thing* to you, please take care of everything.” He was good. He would take care of it. I could trust him. And I did trust him with many things, again and again.

This year

Now, back to the present. This year there was a very deep part of me that didn’t want a new word. Last year was like a balm to my very wounded heart. I didn’t want to let go of that. I decided to pray for one anyway.

As I sat down to ask the Lord for a word for 2024, the normal rush of anxiety that I wouldn’t receive one right away, that I would have to wait… that I wouldn’t be able to hear His voice… all those fears filled me right as the word “close” came to my mind and resonated in my heart.

Close.

Close

Close.

Listen. Picture this.

The Good Shepherd goes out on a journey. He looks far and wide for this sheep who wandered off. He goes to relentless lengths to find it.

And when he finally does, he bends down, picks up that wounded lamb, and…holds it close.

Jesus let me keep my word, and then as a gift, reminded me of the next part of the story. I’m excited to see what this means for the next part of my story.

To wrap up

Recently I painted this image, and it truly fits perfectly into this theme. Close. I am held. You are held. We are held so very close. Let us receive the gift of this childlike trust from the Lord. This is my prayer for you this coming Lent. Wherever you find yourself, may you be led closer to the incredibly good heart of Christ.

The first to know

These prints are now L I V E in my shop! I’ll let the rest of my followers know soon, but I wanted to give you the chance to snag one first.

Sincerely,

Kristina

P.S. Do you do the prayer practice of Word for the Year?