My Favorite Words Have Four Letters–OneWord 2022

Last year I wrote, “mine has been an evolution from retreat to advance,” and in the words of the late Calvin Thorpe Sr.,

“I Meant That Thang.”

Let me make this clear:

I No Longer Play Small.

Where once I bowed my head,

• deferring to the needs and opinions of others,
• patiently making peace,
• waiting my turn,
• expecting reciprocity,

I now stand boldly, the image of the All-Wise and Loving God, Imago Dei, the Divine African Feminine Pillow upon which I kneel to offer my daily petitions. (As each of us is Imago Dei, this is whom I see in the mirror. )

I am clearer now than I ever have been in 57 years (…58 is loading). Trust me, y’all ain’t ready.

While I allege far greater frequent use of profanity than is actually the case, I am getting your attention. As a writer, I obsess over the precise selection of the right tool. When I warn readers that

I Love the Lord AND I Cuss,

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I am preparing you for a raw, frank discussion.

Here We Go.

Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars….“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,“Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

Proverbs 9:1, 4-6, 9 ESV

My OneWord comes to me each year courtesy of one or the other of my best friends. If you know me, we can agree that I’m a lot. That’s why God positioned two remarkable women in my life, my guardians fore and aft, left and right. They have become friends through me, and we can attest,

A Cord of Three Strands is Not Easily Broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

My OneWord always comes spontaneously, delivered during an early morning stroll while dog walking, always both a complete surprise and the only right answer. And, the moment I speak that word, in full recognition, every year, since 2010, I know that THAT’S IT.

This Year Was No Different

This year was no different in the way that the word manifested. What WAS different was that I have been active for 12 years, each year choosing a  DO SOMETHING word. However, I’m changing up for good this time.

Despite never prioritizing my own life, I’m that chick always side-eyeing friends, famous for telling THEM to put their own oxygen masks on first.  I SUCK (4 letters) at self-care. 

Physician, Heal Thy Damn Self (toldja I cuss)

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Howsenevah, (if ya know then ya know)

In October, I began learning a new lesson. I have always professed the need for a personal Savior. Y’all say it to me ALLATIME,

You Need Jesus.

said everyone who’s ever loved me ever

…and you’re right.

HOWEVER, I first had to confess that I could NOT be God.

I was never in control.

• I never had any of the answers (although I can fake it #likeabawse).
• I get [deleted 4-letter word] DONE.
• I may slowly be dying inside, but nevertheless, I show up, show out, and break newspaper with. ON THE REGULAR.

(It’s What I Do)

I learned in October that all of this comes as a cost, one I don’t have to pay if I learn to consistently do this one thing…(4 letter OneWord loading…)

On October 1, 2021,

I heard clearly that I was to write for 31 days, about getting out of God’s Way. For all the times I have intended to participate in 31 Days as a writer, knowing that people have launched new ventures, new careers, (and that’s what I wanted), I have only participated three times, awakening in a panic on the morning of October 1 each time, knowing “deep in my know” that I can’t not write. Each time I have been obedient, and successful.

Each experience grows me bit by bit.

I Am Confessing (Again) that I Need God Because I Am Not God (full stop)

I am also fully committing to and professing that…

This OneWord will not be like any that have preceded it, because I was never ready to be, before now, whom I am becoming.  And, because I am one of God’s special children, my OneWord has Four Letters.

Welcome 2022.  You no longer get to take the shots at me that all your predecessors got to take.

I am NO LONGER your target.

Miss me.

My 2022 OneWord is a four-letter word by which I pledge to direct my life for the next 365 days, and by God’s Grace, for all the remaining days I walk upon this earth. I have finally, FINALLY learned to get out of my own way in order to Watch God Move.

My 2022 OneWord is…