Update On My Word of the Year: BOLD
The rising steam from the ground and the wilting plants show signs it hasn’t rained here much. The air felt dry as though the sky had been withholding, the sun soaking all the energy from everything beneath it.
Dark clouds roll in and turn the sky from blue to gray. Rain falls and waters the grass withered from the Florida heat, water soaking the ground that has long needed the hydration.
I can’t help but think that even the driest seasons eventually receive the much-needed rain and sunshine.
I imagine we’ve all had a season related to this- perhaps that season for you is now. We’re coming out of a pandemic that still creates worry for some, and we’re currently living during a time where many people are angry and hurting. It may feel as though you are falling apart with no clear direction…and no sign of rain.
It’s times like this when our souls feel dry and heavy that make us appreciate the rain and sunshine a little more.
At the beginning of the year, I chose the word “bold” to represent all the goals I wanted to intentionally focus on for one year. Bold is a word that typically isn’t used to describe me, which is exactly why I chose it. I once thought of the word to mean forceful and uncomfortably confrontational. However, I re-defined the word to match how I want to grow, who I want to be and where I want my life to go.
If you’re interested to know more about what the word looks like to me, read more *here*!
It’s near the six-month mark of one year (I know right?! 2020 has been. a. time.), and I feel I’ve grown to be bold in many ways, though the definition is ever-evolving in my vocabulary. Where I once envisioned it to look one way, life happened and plans change. I’ve learned how being bold can look different in different seasons.
Life isn’t what it was five months ago, and I think that’s been pretty obvious no matter who you are.
I originally wrote that living boldly is saying, “no” to myself and more “yes’s” to God, switching routine and being adventurous, being confident in who I am, being kind, and pushing myself in every area even (and especially when) it makes me uncomfortable. I had a perfect, well-thought-out plan to tackle and accomplish these things.
As current events progressed, like COVID-19 and the movement currently unfolding (also, can we throw in Tom Brady playing for the Bucs too?! I think that’s worth talking about still because it’s too crazy not to haha), I wasn’t able to tackle this goal how I originally thought.
Things look a ~little~ different.
The summer I thought I would spend traveling the world, I’m spending right at home; which is right where I need to be. I originally planned to participate in a study abroad program and travel the remaining months doing internships and other projects. That was the “switch routine and be adventurous” part of my goal. Within a few months, the Coronavirus happened; and those plans were canceled, leaving me to believe it was going to be a dull, dry summer.
Yet, somehow, God made a way and opportunities still presented themselves- even if it wasn’t in the way I first thought they should look.
I didn’t realize in January that living boldly could also look like being bold in the way I challenge myself to learn and experience things even when it looks different from how I planned.
I’ve pushed myself to do things I never would have imagined myself doing last summer; not because I didn’t want to do them, but simply because I didn’t see myself as capable of doing them.
Boldly challenging yourself to take small steps of faith will produce big blessings.
Live bold in the way you learn. Live bold in the way you grow. All it takes is a little bit of watering each day and small baby steps. It takes time to grow, and God’s timetable isn’t always our own (thank goodness!).
It’s in the seasons I think are too dry, I eventually receive the rain that helps me grow; and by growing, I can bloom to be all I need to be for the SON. Do hard things. Do what’s uncomfortable even if it means doing things you never thought you’d see yourself doing. Even if it means doing something you don’t think you’re capable of.
I promise you are capable.
The things that make you comfortable make you complacent, and the things that make you uncomfortable help you grow. Live BOLD.
I’m seeing that just like flowers need water to grow, so do I. We need both the dry and rainy seasons to nurture and grow us the way we need; and when we’re finished, we can boldly live to water and be sunshine for others.
3 Comments
Debbie
You never cease to amaze me. I love this.
Ginger Houck
Ashtyn. That’s beautiful.
Ma
Beautiful, Ashtyn!