Already halfway into January…can you believe it?! I’m still trying to recover from Christmas! Thankfully, the kids were all back in care this week, so I finally had my first day off with the house to myself in a month! Except instead of resting, I did what us mums normally do and decided to catch up on all the things I’ve been wanting to do but haven’t had the time! And yes, this is despite writing last week’s blog post about rest and why it’s so hard, but that just shows you that I’m a 100% real and perfectly imperfect human – no AI or filters when I share with you, my friends!

But even though I didn’t get the rest I probably needed, I did spend a lot of time on myself doing some self-development (and soul-development!) work, including devotion, journalling, and planning my goals and visions for 2026 and beyond! It was a very reflective time, and I honestly feel excited and motivated for the year ahead.

Now, I mentioned this in a recent blog post, but I’ve never been a huge subscriber to intentional goal-planning, resolution-setting, “Word for the Year”-type stuff when it comes to a new year. I might make a resolution or have broad goals in mind, but that's about it; there was no planning, no intentions. No surprise, my completion rate or even the amount and consistency of actions taken to achieve them were very low. So last year, I decided to take it seriously and I even had a Word for the Year! And although it wasn’t a “perfect” year as I was going through it, I’ve walked away and realised it was still a pretty “successful” one (you can read more about that and my reflections for 2025 here).

Naturally, I decided to do the same this year, and it all starts with my Word for the Year. Now, there are many ways that people come up with their Word for the Year. Some people choose a word they want to instil and speak over their year, some people look for signs. As for myself, I pray. I ask God to reveal the word He has for me for the year, and then I spend more time praying and pouring over that word to make sure I’ve got it right, but also to try and understand why and what the word means.

Now, I wouldn’t normally share my word or my reflections with everybody – at least not till the end of the year when all is said and done and I’ve processed everything. After all, a lot of it can be pretty deep and personal stuff. But then I realised, some of the insight that I’ve gained from finding my word for 2026 wasn’t just relevant for me but could be useful for everybody! So, while we’re still in January, I thought I’d share them with you so you can also apply them to the year ahead!

I actually got my Word for the Year in December. I’d started noticing lots of white and yellow flowers popping up all over the place in the last couple of months. And when I started to process them in the context of a word for the year, I had this vision of a white flower slowly pushing its way out of the soil, growing, growing and then the flower opening up and shaking off the dew on it. I was pretty sure my word was “Bloom”.

I prayed about it and asked (and asked!) for confirmation. I started noticing more flowers and even the word “Bloom” pop up at the most random times and the most random places (like one of the very back aisles of Officeworks)! But I (still!) kept praying for confirmation and understanding on why “Bloom”. Thankfully, God is more patient than I am when my kids ask me the same thing over and over again, and He answered me in a way that left no doubt.

He put a Bible verse on my mind. If you’re familiar with scripture, you will know the story where Jesus talks about the birds and the grass in the fields and how God looks after them. And you’ll probably focus on the end verses, which tell you to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and not to worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of its own. But God didn’t want me to focus on those verses; He wanted me to look at Matthew 6:28 -

“…See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin.” (NIV)

And I realised, God was telling me to be like the wildflowers and BLOOM. They don’t worry or work, they don’t wait or ask for permission from someone else, they just go and do what they're meant to do. They BLOOM; wild, free, and unbothered by life and what’s around them.

For most of my life, I’ve let people dictate the person I am, the way I behave, the things I do. I’ve always tried to “do the right thing” and do what’s “expected” of me, always trying to “fix”, to keep people happy, and keep the peace. I’ve walked around carrying fear and anxiety, guilt and shame, always worrying what people might say or think about me. I’ve walked away from conversations trying to analyse every word, every facial expression; dissecting each part to see if I made a mistake or said something that might be taken the wrong way. If you’re anything like me, then you’ll know that this kind of life is exhausting.

So, this year, I’m going to BLOOM. No more holding back, no more sacrificing my peace and joy for the sake of others. I’m pushing myself up and out of the soil that’s been holding me down, shaking off that dirt and dew, and I’m going to let the beauty of who I really am speak for itself.

And for the critics – no, this doesn’t mean I’m embracing a more selfish/self-centred existence. It just means that I’m no longer going to seek approval from the world, because the only approval that matters to me is God’s. No matter what you do, there will always be people who will find fault, be unhappy, or paint you as the villain and try to put you down. I’m not going to waste the precious time I have by letting them distract me.

My focus will be to keep growing and trying my best to be a good person, to stay true to my values and the person I am, and to carry out God’s purpose for my life and run the race He has set before me. After all, at the end of the day, God knows my heart, and the only goal that matters to me is to win the crown of life.

I don’t know what your word for the year is. I don’t know if you even believe in things like that (my husband doesn't!). But regardless, this is my encouragement for you for 2026. Stop worrying about everything else around you. Stop letting external forces dictate your life. Stop hiding your light from the world. Let the world see the beauty you have to offer; the beauty that only you can offer. Bloom, my friends, bloom. 🌼