Rejoice!

You know that little meme thingy going around on Facebook where someone asks you to add a word of encouragement starting with the first letter of your name? My IRL name starts with an R and I always give them "Rejoice" as a word. Such a  hugely positive word.

I have had a word of the year for the last few years. Some years have turned into quite the opposite and others have been very successful . My year of "Hope" turned out exactly that and in my year of "Brave" it was exactly what is needed. Somehow this year "Rejoice" came to me almost the moment I started thinking about a word. In fact, no other word came to me.

Most of you know that 2017 was my "Anus Horibilis" - it was hectic. This year has all the potential to be a difficult one too. But I choose to "Rejoice" and I will. As I was milling over this I found the confirmation that indeed it was the right word for the year.  I saw this blog post (Written in Afrikaans) about the drought in Cape Town. Please read it if you are able to understand Afrikaans . It is all about trusting God and rejoicing at the same time.

So I will live this year and rejoice:

Habakkuk 3:17-19 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

¹⁹ The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights