In 2026, I’m Going to Pay Attention

We’ve wrapped up another year. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is behind us. It’s time to relax, right? I’m not so sure. It’s time to take it all in and gather our thoughts for a new year. A few days ago, the calendar flipped into a new year. A new set of 365 days to do with what we wish. Were you among those making resolutions?

Forbes Health reported that only about 37% of Americans make a New Year's resolution or say they have a goal they want to achieve in the year. They indicated that improving fitness, finances, and mental health, losing weight, and improving diet were among their top priorities. Most goals or resolutions lasted only about 3.5 months, according to their research. Longer than I expected, to be honest.

I was surprised at this low percentage focusing on goals. Are we no longer driven to better ourselves? Are we too caught up in the fast-paced drive-thru culture that we forget that we can take care of ourselves and actually want good things for ourselves? I haven’t been one to make resolutions in quite some time. Instead, I sit and ponder habits I’d like to cultivate and determine what kind of person I would like to become during the year.

I know that in any year, there will be high and low moments. There will be momentous occasions full of joy, while others will be hard, faith-testing moments. I’ve been challenging myself for several years to choose a word of the year, along with a verse or verses to guide me spiritually through whatever that trip around the sun may hold. It’s served as a guide to keep me grounded and focused, even when it’s so easy to lose my way at three months in or ten. I also find it exciting to plaster the word everywhere in my journal, my Bible, my mirror, my car, on a bracelet on my wrist, and see how God will show up with little reminders throughout the year of this one word I’ve had on my heart and mind.

This year, I’ve chosen the word: Behold.

Webster’s Dictionary defines it as to look or see. To pay attention. Our attention is drawn to something meaningful. I don’t read the King James Version daily, but in that version of Scripture, the word behold is used 1300-1500 times. God wants us to note something of importance. There’s something we need to see and/or understand.

I love the Christmas season. As I’ve mentioned before, the Christmas lights bring me so much joy and fill my heart with such light. The darkness is illuminated in such a special way during the Christmas season. I wanted to carry the hope of Christmas with me into the next season. I don’t want it to fade just because the lights are taken down, and the decorations are neatly packed in boxes until it’s time to get them back out again. As I was pondering a word for the year, I thought of the wise men visiting the baby Jesus. They were guided by an angel on their way to see him and to witness the Messiah’s birth. One word that was mentioned was “Behold.” The wise men were to pay attention. They didn’t need to miss the direction. The Messiah had come to save the world; their utmost attention was indeed required. (For more info on this story, see Matthew 2)

I don’t want to miss what God is going to do in my life this year. I know there will be ups and downs, and times in which I feel my faith is tested. Still, I want to pay attention to what God is teaching me and what He’s calling me to do not only for my life, but for my family, my job performance, my decisions, my interactions with others, and so much more. I truly believe when we trust God to guide us, He doesn’t leave us hanging. I’ve committed to no wimpy prayers either. I firmly believe that God hears our prayers, and when we pray in faith, He answers our longings for His glory and our good. I’m not asking Him to do something half-heartedly, I’m coming full force.

I’ve picked a couple of verses to carry close this year.

Genesis 28:15 - “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I promised.”

—Also—

Isaiah 43:19 - Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

I’ve come too far and been through too much to stop believing in the God who created the Heavens and the Earth. He’s brought me through too much to abandon me now. The same is true for you. He loves you fiercely. More than anyone on this Earth ever could. He wants you to love Him fully so that in that relationship, you can embrace hope and peace like no other. It won’t eliminate all your problems, because we still live in an imperfect world surrounded by sin, but it gives us hope that one day all will be made right. Jesus will return soon. Don’t miss an opportunity to follow him. I’m looking forward to paying better attention this year. I don’t want to miss what God has in store for me.

You may want to pick a word or verse for this year. If you do, I’d love for you to share it with me. Hit reply or send me a message and let me know how God is working in your life this year. Don’t doubt what He can do. Cherish every moment ahead, friends.