So, what is your star word for 2026? What will you work on this year?
If you were at Wilshire on Epiphany Sunday, you were invited to pick a shiny star out of a basket with a word written on it. And then you were encouraged to consider that word in this new year and how it might help guide you inwardly and outwardly toward a Christ-filled life. This is the third year we’ve done this, and it’s intriguing, challenging and hopeful all at one.
My word the first year was “Pray,” and of course I did that. How seriously and purposefully I prayed is up for debate, and that is the point. Last year my word was “Self-Love.” My initial reaction was to joke about endless spa days and declare 2025 “The Year of Me,” but then I tried to get serious about it. I did take care of myself physically as I moved another year away from cancer and treatments. But did I take care of my mental, emotional and spiritual self as I should? Did I spend more time in prayer, reflection and contemplation? Did I forgive myself for things I’ve done recently, but more importantly, decades ago? Likewise, did I free myself by forgiving others?
This year my word is “Include.” I want to do better with it but it’s taking some time to think through all the layers of meaning of that word.
There’s an outward aspect of “Include,” and that may be the easiest to get my arms around. We’ve been all over “Include” at Wilshire with our historic “inclusion and diversity” study and vote in 2016. That’s been a great thing for the church because it’s right for the Kingdom. It’s what Jesus taught: Everyone is welcome. That’s pretty easy in a group, including a church, but maybe a little more difficult on an individual basis. Just when I think I’m there, I have doubts. Do all of my actions toward other people really reflect an honest and sincere heart for inclusion? When I peek out our front windows to see who is looking at the vacant house next door, am I honestly all-in on inclusion? I say I want “good” neighbors, but how do I define that?
There’s an inward aspect of “Include” that’s more personal, and for me, more difficult. Part of that is including others in our hopes and dreams and our plans and schemes, and I’ve always held my cards pretty close to my chest. It’s also the sharing of ourselves – all the good, interesting and fun stuff, but also the other stuff we’re hesitant to lay out for people to see: our fears, doubts, regrets, weaknesses, biases. That’s where many of us fail. We like to put on a front of having everything together, everything worked out, everything fine-tuned and running well.
As she’s done in the past, LeAnn has written both of our words – my “Include” and her “Humility” – on a chalk board by our back door that we see every day as we come and go. And I stood my star up on the shelf beside my desk where I can see it.
We’ll see how it goes.