My Word for 2021

On 1 Jan 2020, I recorded a journal entry at 5:38am:

“I’ve been contemplating all of yesterday about what “word” you (God) would give me for 2020… the word that keeps popping up is FOUNDATIONAL, that 2020 is about taking the lessons learnt in the last decade, my last 30 years and relaying the foundations of what it looks like to live a life modelled after Jesus.”

Having had an opportunity now to read through all my journal entries from 2020, I can truly say that 2020 was a foundational year for me.

It was a year of stripping back and being reminded of what was important.

It was a year of acknowledging a lot of the mental junk and false belief systems/mindsets that I had picked up on in the last 30 years of living and then finding freedom from them.

It was a year of surrendering (though with struggle!) my trust issues to God and receiving healing from things of the past.

What I’ve been reminded of in 2020 is that an apprenticeship to Jesus is an ongoing process, it can be painful at times but the freedom on the other side is worth it.

Which brings me to 2021.

Towards the end of 2020, I started seeing butterflies and dragonflies a lot on my walks. I’ve always seen butterflies as symbols of change and transformation however, I was particularly drawn to the dragonflies and decided to do a bit of research that led me to my “word” for 2021, “metamorphosis“.

Below are some of my thoughts and interpretations of what dragonflies will symbolise for my 2021:

Similar to butterflies, dragonflies spent most of their life in a different form before undergoing a metamorphosis (the process of transformation).

• For me 2021 is going to be a year of moving from one stage of life to another. Not sure what that looks like yet but keeping an open mind.

When a dragonfly transforms from an aquatic nymph to an adult dragonfly it acquires new abilities to fly in all directions (up , down, to the sides).

• For me this represents newfound abilities that come with maturity and age.

Dragonflies can see 360 degrees around their own head (80% of their brain is dedicated to sight!).

• This represents to me an uninhibited view of the mind and an ability to see beyond the usual limitations that can be imposed by the world around us.

Dragonfly wings are also “iridescent”, meaning it can manifest itself in different colours depending on the angles and the light.

• This was a bit more of a tricky one to interpret but for me, this represents being able to see things clearly, understanding things from a multifaceted perspective and the end of self-created illusions.

Dragonflies only fly for a fraction of their life compared to the time that they are a nymph.

• This reminds me that life here on earth is also fleeting so may I be present each day in an awareness of who I am, what season I am in, what I’ve been called to do and live each day to the fullest.

While we do not know what 2021 will bring and there’s already been a lot of unrest in the first few weeks of this new year, as a person of faith, I walk into 2021 with a hope for our future, knowing the one who holds the future loves me and our world. Bring on the metamorphosis!

What’s your word for 2021?

Featured image from Unsplash