I Stopped Remembering

In 2016 I did something that I didn’t realize at the time would impact me so much.

As I made the shift from a corporate America job to the solo-preneur world, there was an intuitive sense in me that I needed to frame this journey as an adventure. There was a lot of fear during the year-long decision-making struggle and that fear needed a new master. One who understood there were both risks and rewards to big change. One who did not over-index on all the ways this could turn out bad. One who was willing to acknowledge the fear and step out anyway, with faith and courage, into an unknown future.

So I adopted the word adventure to describe and represent how I wanted to experience what was to come.

For 2.5 years, adventure was the word that carried me, focused me, and framed the journey I was on. By late 2018, two things became clear. One, I had intuitively stumbled into something that many people do annually. Two, it was time for a new word.

So began an annual rhythm that has continued ever since.

Some words stand out more than others. Going into 2020, the word I landed on was flourish. Remember 2020? Let that sink in for a moment. In 2022, it was co-operate. Father was inviting me to make some course altering decisions, and in so doing join Him in what He was already up to. 2023 marked 7 years of the new professional journey. God gave me celebrate for that year.

Some years the words came with waiting and listening. Sometimes with list making and focusing. Some years it was well into January before the right one emerged. Other years, the words simply showed up, unprompted, simply received. So was the case for 2025 and my word abide.

If you’ve followed the chronology of these stories, you’ll recall that 2025 started strong and adventurous with our stay in Las Vegas. And while that was the biggest experience, there were others that made the highlight list. In fact, in the first half of the year, it felt like both my mindset and the circumstances were aligning to help me abide -- to remain, to dwell, with and within the presence of God.

Then the second half of the year arrived. The circumstances turned hard and fast. The heaviness pressed in. And the word that better described what I was experiencing was survive.

Near the end of the year, it was again time to choose a word for the upcoming year. And my realization was this, I completely forgot about abide. In the midst of the most challenging times, when I most needed to channel the power and focus of what this word represented, I simply forgot. Or maybe better said, I stopped remembering.

When the adventure felt fun and exciting, it was easy to remember to abide. When the journey turned difficult, remembering took a back seat. The word didn’t change. My focus and attention did.

Ever since moving on from that very first word, each new year has brought a new word. A way to mark a shift. A way to focus my mindset and attention. Ever since, that is, until this year. At the end of 2025, reflecting on the year that was and preparing for the one that would be, it became clear that I wasn’t done with abide.

Adversity had boarded our 2025 train mid-year and was not getting off at the new year stop. And the difficulties of 2026, the unknowns of the coming new year, might prove to be even more challenging traveling companions. So, abide it is for another year.

As I write these words, midway through 2026, it feels like last year again. The not-remembering. The loss of intentional focus. The attention more shaped by circumstances than by agency. I don’t know what word will show up at the end of this year. But I do know this, I’m not yet done with abide.