Introducing My 3 Words for 2022
Happy 2022! We’ve made it through the first week of the new year.
Going into 2022, I feel hopeful and excited for what’s to come. I love any opportunity for a fresh start, a new challenge, and a clean slate. Although I believe you can use any day as “Day 1,” a new calendar year is a great opportunity to reassess your goals, dream for the future, and start fresh.
If you’ve been around here for a minute, you know that I don’t typically make New Year’s Resolutions; but rather, I choose three words as my words of the year. My 3 words for 2022 are New, Focus, and Trust. Let me tell you why.
New.
2021 was a year of change. There were a lot of things that happened behind the scenes that made us stop and realize that God is doing something, and we don’t quite know what it all is yet. Going into 2022, there are a lot of new things on the horizon.
As a creature of habit and a lover of routine and predictability, the fact that New is one of my words for 2022 is…terrifying. With new things comes growth, challenges, and saying goodbye to the comfort zone. However, although I am apprehensive of the sheer unpredictability of what’s to come, I have never been more sure that God is sovereign and you can trust Him.
Before I even identified New as one of my words, these verses ran through my mind:
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Lamentations 3:22-23, “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Focus.
In a world of distraction and instant gratification, Focus is becoming a foreign concept and discipline. Why focus when you can scroll, tweet, post, share, watch, or chat?
To me, Focus encompasses a variety of areas in my life. A few ways I plan to Focus in 2022 include:
Focusing on Jesus and His example
Focusing on my relationships
Focusing on my health and fitness journey
Focusing on my grad classes/academics
Focusing on my professional goals and responsibilities
Focusing on my hobbies and finding balance
Focusing on my habits and mindset (instead of comparing others’ journeys on social media)
Trust.
If 2021 taught me anything it would be to trust in the Lord and His timing.
I’m a perfectionist, a control freak, and a planner. When I make a plan, I do everything I can to follow through and stick to my word.
But the thing about life that I’m continually learning is that my plans are not at all better than what God has planned.
One of my absolute favorite quotes of all time is from John Piper.
“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”
Therefore, my final word for 2022 is Trust.
To trust in the Lord’s plans, to trust that His timing is perfect, to trust that He works all things together for my good.
Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
Proverbs 29:25, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
So, friends, as we near the end of Week 1 of 2022, I am encouraged by what is to come. Because no matter what happens, God’s timing is perfect and we can trust Him.
I asked you on Instagram (@KeriPapili) what your words for 2022 are. Here are some of your words!
Play
Trust
Focus
Light
Perseverance
Disney
Rhythm
Joy
Surrender