So I’m not fully sold on the concept of having only one word for the year, as I feel like God moves so much in a year and I don’t want to be constrained to one word. But I like the concept of focusing on something God may teaching me rather than feel scattered by all the possibilities.

As I woke up early one morning (not by choice), I was reading my daily devotional and the word that came to mind for me at this time is “FOLLOW”. In the past, I have followed God in choosing a university, I have followed God along with my husband in youth ministry, I have followed God to Uganda. But the “FOLLOW” I am challenged about is Matthew 16:24-25: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

And those Jesus spoke to in Matthew 8:18-22: When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Am I willing to follow Jesus even without the comfort of my family, the security that Leland and Adalyn will be okay? God wants us to care for the needs of our families  but not to neglect our spiritual calling in the process. Am I willing to follow Him no matter what? I’m not sure I can answer a whole-hearted “YES” yet, so my challenge for this year is to follow Him in all the ways I can and continue to pray for His strength in all the ways that I can’t. As I figure out what it means to fully FOLLOW Jesus, I ask that you also join me in this challenge in how you can fully follow Jesus as well. Let’s do this together!