2016 will be the fifth year that I have been involved with the OneWord365 idea. After spending 2015 on a "Journey," I actually kind of wondered if I was going to continue participating with it. I spent the last month in prayer over this decision as well as pondering the journey of 2015. My understanding is that many people choose their word in lieu of a New Year's Resolution. I choose to spend time in prayer to find out what God wants me to focus on throughout the year. As 2015 ended and 2016 began, my answer came that I was not yet finished and my new word would be "RESTORE." As there are many reasons I can imagine that word would show up in my head, I prayed for a week, asking for confirmation that this word was from God. This confirmation came in quite the interesting way that I thought I would share with you.
My best friend and I like to take the week after Christmas and go off for a post holiday break from everything, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. A very dear friend and I began this tradition several years ago, leaving our children home with their fathers, who were both off of work during the holidays. It was wonderful for us "stay-at-home Moms" to get a much deserved break. Fast forward several years, my best friend and I continue the tradition as she is a teacher so off of work during the holidays and I take the time off from my business to re-coup and return to my clients all fresh and ready to go. This year, we chose to spend a week on Orcas Island. We were fortunate enough to see some of God's awesome artwork while driving around and hiking. I have gotten to a point in my life where I really enjoy hiking and desire to do more of that as time goes on.
Anyway, I digress. While we were on the island, God did what He so often does to get my attention. He used music. The playlist on my iPhone that is set on random played a set of songs all relating to restoration. It definitely grabbed my attention. While driving back to the ferry after our week was complete, I was listening to the music and praying that God confirm my "assigned" word or correct my thoughts. All of a sudden, I saw an eagle flying below the treeline, headed straight towards my car with prey in it's talons. It was so absolutely incredible. We were on the road alone so I stopped the car, just staring at the large bird as it veered away towards it's destination. Then I saw the eagle's mate just ahead, flying towards the one that had flown towards us. I just sat there in awe, wishing I had been able to snap a photo of the experience. It all just happened so fast and, apparently it was for our eyes only. After the birds had departed, a reminder came into my mind. Eagles were at one time endangered. Then they were restored in number, however they remain a protected species. One might think this was a message from the Lord. I believe so. My next thought was to attempt to recall any Scriptures that pertained to eagles and, of course a passage in Isaiah 40 came to mind.
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." ~ Isaiah 40-28-31
That God would send me such a message so clearly, absolutely stunned me. My eyes filled with tears and I was in awe. Not only did I receive confirmation about my word for the year, I had an experience that led me to believe I was in the presence of my God. How does restoration happen? Well, perhaps it is directly from the hands of God. I don't know what this year will look like, but I will explore the idea of restoration in another post. This post may require some pondering for me as well as some of you. That experience occurred about a week ago and I am still processing what all of this means for 2016. RESTORE? RESTORATION? I guess we shall see.
all contents (c) 2016 Laura Inglis
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