“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” (Jeremiah 31:25)

Each year, I choose a word for the year. For over a decade, instead of creating resolutions that I know I won’t keep, I’ve chosen a word to focus on throughout the year. The only time I haven’t chosen a word was last year. I was never able to settle on one that seemed right, and before I knew it, the year had moved along, and it seemed like it was too late to choose one.

That’s not the case this year. This year, my word came to me just as the calendar turned to 2025. That word is refresh. According to the online dictionary, refresh means “give new strength or energy to.”

Why refresh? you might wonder. Because the last few years have been filled with change, health challenges, and upheaval, it feels as if looking at my life through the lens of the word refresh would be the best way to focus on moving forward.

Refresh can apply to so many areas:

• my writing life, where I have been sadly lacking inspiration and energy over the last couple of years;
• my work life, which is constantly evolving as I continue to learn how to succeed in my day job while not overextending myself with editing work;
• my finances, which took a hit during the years that I was self-employed;
• my health, which has suffered due to my lack of taking care of myself; and
• my relationship with Jesus, which has become stagnant due to a lack of investment on my part.

These things won’t change overnight. But I can take small steps, like writing this devotional and spending time alone with Jesus, to get things going in the right direction.

Dear Jesus, thank you for providing a word for the year—a word that feels full of hope for the future, even when the future remains shrouded in darkness. Amen.