At the beginning of each year since 2017, I’ve chosen one word to inspire or guide me throughout the new year as well as a scripture verse to go along with it. My word for 2023 was contentment and the Bible verse, Philippians 4:12b. “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” I wanted to be able to say with the apostle Paul that I had learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.
Everything went pretty well for about eight months. In late March, hubby came through his prostate surgery well. We had a good summer season. We camped, hiked, kayaked and played lots of golf. Everything seemed to be going well and contentment came easily. Then things started to unravel. I worried about a close family member who was going through a very difficult time. Hubby and I encountered more issues with our health and life seemed to become a long series of trips to the city for medical appointments. I no longer came to the end of a day with a feeling of quiet happiness and satisfaction. Instead, I was stressed! Tense! I berated myself for having had the audacity to choose a word like contentment! How could I possibly be content in my present circumstances? Thankfully, time, prayer, wise counsel, and an excellent massage therapist helped get me back on track. Now that the year has ended, I think I can say that I’ve come closer to being able to be content in any and every situation. I’m definitely still a work in progress though!
It was during this dark time that I settled on my one word for 2024.
Hope!
The New Oxford American Dictionary defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen”. That meaning is definitely part of the reason that I chose hope as my word for the new year. I hope that 2024 is a good year for all of us. I hope that my family is happy and healthy. I hope that the embolization that I’ll be having to tackle the tumour on my liver is successful and that my cancer doesn’t grow or spread any further. I hope that hubby and I can travel more in the coming year (and not just to medical appointments!) Yes, I hope for many things, but there is a hope that is so much greater than any of these.
This year, while my word came to me easily, choosing a scripture verse to go with it was more difficult because there were so many possibilities. I finally settled on two of them, Romans 15:13 and Hebrews 6:19a.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
and
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
The Biblical word hope is so much more than just wishful thinking. From the Hebrew word tikvah, it’s an expectation and a strong expression of faith. It’s a certainty that we can hold fast to. It’s confidence that God is who He says He is and can do what He says He will do. My hope, my certainty, is that some glorious day when the trials of this life are over, I will see Him face-to-face. He guaranteed it! This hope gives me strength to face whatever happens between now and then. It isn’t dependent on my circumstances. As I learn to depend more and more on this tikvah hope, the contentment that I yearned for in 2023 should become more and more real in my life!
What do you hope for in 2024?
Have you chosen a word for the new year?
Following Augustine 
What a beautiful way to start this year off. Thank you for setting this year off on the right foot and sending such a wonderful message for us all.
Thank you for your very kind comment!
Thank you for this wonderful post – for describing your struggle and your process for finding hope. Very helpful. Sending you good thoughts for the new year.
I’m glad you found the post helpful.
My the Lord bless you and encourage you and fill you with hope from above.I am taking your contentment from last year.Now in my 82nd year I cant do many of the things I use to and sometimes get frustrated so I will be content with what I can do.
It’s true that as we age, we can’t do everything that we could when we were younger. Learning to be content with what we can do is an important lesson. I hope the year goes very well for you!
So sorry to hear that you are now facing liver cancer Elaine. I also “hope” that the Lord will once again bring you through this next challenge 💕
Judy
Thank you, Judy. This is not a new cancer, but one of the neuroendocrine tumours that I’ve had for a long time. It’s no longer responding to my monthly medication and has started to grow and produce hormones again, so it’s time to take further action.
I hope for you that you will take the ability you honed, in 2023, to be content, and find it enriching your daily life. My father lived with prostate cancer for 7 years after it came back 10 years after it went into remission (after aggressive surgery in his mid-50s). He taught us all so much about contentment and hope and grace, finding small joys right until his end — and as with you, his contentment, hope, and grace were all founded on a profound faith.
I heard an excellent program on CBC, during his last year or so — an interview on a talk-show with someone from Cancer Society, talking specifically about hope. The spokesperson spoke of how it was possible for a terminal cancer patient to have hope or how could their loved ones have hope in their presence. This was 25 years ago, and I still think of the insight — that the hope would look different, that it might no longer be hope for a miracle, for a last-minute cure, etc. etc. But hope to see a friend, to hold a grandchild, for a favourite rose to bloom, for a chance to sit with a beloved spouse and watch the sunrise.
I’ll be very interested to follow your journey with Hope this year. I sense and admire your strength. Take care.
Thank you so much, Frances! Your comment has really encouraged me. I am reminded of the things I hoped and prayed for when I was first diagnosed before we even knew what kind of cancer I had. I prayed that I ‘d live to see and hold the baby that my newly pregnant daughter was carrying. Now that baby is almost 10! I hoped that I’d live to see our youngest son married. He didn’t even have a girlfriend at the time, but now he’s happily married with three children! I have been so blessed!
Lovely post, Elaine. That’s what we all need in our lives and hold on to – Hope. It’s what keeps us all going.
Amen!
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