Persevere — this was my word for 2021. It was a word I didn’t particularly desire. Nobody wants to think of having to persevere. Perseverance generally presumes hard times are in the future. Yet, because God is good, I knew persevering was not without reward.

When you are given your One Word for the year, you get a supporting scripture to go with it. Here was mine:

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14 (AMP)

God gave me a challenge to persevere in three areas of my life; writing, building our house, and health. Today I want to share with you my year end evaluation.

Number one most challenging and most rewarding journey, was the process of financing, building, selling, and moving – with the additional challenge for my husband, retiring. Here are shots from January and September this year. We were able to move in at the end of August. I love my new home and I’m thankful I won’t have to go through this process again.

My second area, writing, took on a new direction, taking second place to the build. I set aside my novel and put my efforts into my blog. This will be my one hundred sixth post for the year. The most I have ever written and includes some series which I consider are some of the best posts I’ve ever written. Then in November I was able to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and added 30,000 words to my second novel.

Okay, now comes the least successful area: health. It was a near three hour drive from our old house to the new house. Eating out and fast-food became a necessity and a convenience. I understand now why so many Americans are obese. If you’ve followed me you know I have had issues with my weight, my back, my foot, and my mental health. Perseverance will need to be stretched through this year for this area of my life as I seem to have slipped backwards. But I’m okay with that. I’m in a better position to address my health now and I expect this next year to be full of successes. (I’ll share my 2022 word in my next post.)

Looking back over 2021, though it was filled with challenges, it was a year overflowing with blessings. I learned three important lessons that I commemorated on canvases around my new home. Here they are:

Give thanks, love deeply, and find joy! May your new year be full of God’s blessings.

Grace & Peace,

Sandy