Guest Post– Experience with 2020 Verse/word of the Year

For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Hebrews 11:10

This is the verse I chose for 2020. It reflects my word of the year: perspective. If
you’re anything like me, you find yourself often tied down to earth, focused on what
you are doing, forgetful of where you are going. It’s easy to do. When I’m getting
through my morning routine, eating my meals, or straightening my room, I find my
thoughts going to things that relate to my life right now, often things that are not that
important. Even worse, other times I become fearful about the future.
This all sets the stage for my special 2020 verse and word. I picked the word
perspective well before 2019 was over. Let me tell you a little story about where I got
the idea.

I was really struggling with fear and anxiety about my family, my dog, and other
things. The slightest little thing that happened would panic me. Then one day, I got
some really sad news. Amaris sent me a message letting me know that a girl I knew of
had been tragically killed in a car wreck. This girl was only in her early twenties.
You’re probably thinking that this news only made my anxiety worse. Actually this
news, although it saddened me a lot, helped to put things in perspective. It showed me
that my worry comes from focusing only on this life. When I realize that I have the
hope of spending eternity in Heaven with my loved ones, why do I need to stress? I get
stressed when I try to create Heaven on earth by always keeping everyone healthy and
happy. This is not reality for earth, but it is for Heaven!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you,
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptations. 1 Peter 1:3-6
This verse in Hebrews is talking about Abraham and how he gave up his comfortable
life because he viewed life from an eternal perspective. That is something we can all
work on improving and implementing into our lives.
Which brings us to 2020!

Perspective has been a really good word for me this year. The year has not gone as
planned for me or anyone else. Amid disappointments, uncertainties, and fears, it is a
blessing to know that we have hope outside of this fallen world. We may have missed
out on things we hold dear, graduations, attending weddings, birthday parties, fill in the
blank whatever it was for you, but what is that in light of the hope of eternity?
This year has made it more obvious just how short and fragile life is, but that’s no
reason to be discouraged. We have hope: the hope of Heaven!
There you have it. That’s both the history of my verse and word choice and how
they have applied to this year so far.

What about you? Did you pick a verse or word for 2020? You’re welcome to tell
about it in the comments if you would like!

This post was written and edited by Bethany Griggs.

Photos taken by James Staddon. To learn more about him and his photography please visit www.lenspiration.com.