For those who think/process the way I do, I think you might appreciate the process of choosing a word, verse, or phrase of the year. For 2026 mine is….drumroll please…..
TEND.
Seems a little anticlimactic. It isn’t epic, pushy, driven, or even inspiring. In fact, it is the opposite.
It is lowly, humble, selfless, and honestly, a LOT of hard work. Here’s my story so far :
I was reading my new morning mercies devotional one day during the kids’ nap time, and it was about Jesus talking to Peter and telling him to tend his sheep. He asked him if he loved him with agape love, and Peter kept answering with a different kind of love, but Jesus’ answer was to tend his sheep if he loves him. A few days later at church, my Pastor preached on the exact same message!!! and it was my first time back after my son’s birth so it was a big day anyway! And the way God brought it full circle was definitely not coincidence.
That’s when I realized maybe my word for 2026 needs to be TEND- to remind me my priority is to care for our sheep; our three precious young lambs, that we’ve been gifted, which is our children.
So naturally, I looked up the specific definition of TEND -“be liable to possess or display (a particular characteristic)”
My job as a mom is to encourage my children to display God’s characteristics. WOAH. What a high calling, and something I don’t take lightly. I’ll expound how this word reaches far beyond just my own children in future entries, but for now, I just want to soak up this HUGE, holy, hard calling that could have ONLY come from the Holy Spirit.
Just like Peter had denied Jesus three times, he was restored to Jesus’ ministry with three commands in John 21:15-17… “Tend My sheep….Feed my lambs….Feed my Sheep.”
What is God calling you to do to be more obedient to this command? Who in your life needs to see God’s characteristics on display like a shining light in the dead of night? If you are called into the fold, you’ve been called to “lead, guide, and provide spiritual nourishment” to those around you who are more vulnerable, younger, and impressionable. And may we seize EVERY opportunity that comes our way to do so!
#anspiration #grizzlyfilmco #reflectiveliving #tend2026 #textartapp
Anspiration 