My One Word for 2026

What’s in a word? More than the letters that make it up, I can assure you of that!

I have been choosing one word to focus on throughout the year for over a decade now, and the process of selecting that word for the upcoming year has been such a special and sacred journey I take with the Lord each December.

As I start to reflect on the word that's been my focus for the past 11 months, I realize just how timely and transformational it has been. Then, as I start to shift my focus and pray about a new word for the new year, I am always in awe of the process it takes to arrive at that one word, but even greater than the process of selection is the purposeful pursuit of that word in my daily walk with God and the depth of meaning that is about to take root in my heart and quite literally change the way I live.

It usually starts with several words that have been thematic alongside my word for the past eleven months, but then the wrestling begins. I want to make sure the word I focus on during the upcoming year is the same word God wants me to focus on. As I start a word study on each word in this list, it amazes me how one word inevitably rises to the top.

The word I chose to live by in 2025 was BEAUTY, and let me tell you, I have witnessed beauty throughout this year that has taken my breath away and left me speechless. God is a good, good Father, and I am convinced that He truly does give good gifts to His children — even when those gifts may be different than what I imagined.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:201-21, ESV).

Ironically, my search for my one word for 2026 led me to the word in more ways than one. As I sought the Lord and His guidance, and as I asked Him for wisdom and direction in the seeking, He met me not only in His Word, but in the very word itself…

SEEK. My one word for 2026 is SEEK.

My wordy ways are no secret in this space. I am a word nerd in every sense of the word, so I’m not sure why I was so surprised to find my one word for the new year in the essence of my seeking out that word.

I love word games — a crossword puzzle, a good word search, any and every chance I get to seek answers and truth, I am in hot pursuit!

So, here's to more seeking in 2026. It's a pretty big year for me. I turn 50 in July, and already, I have been wrestling with the aging process, the changing of seasons, and the difference it all can make when we meet it all head on, face-to-face.

For half my life now, I've been a mom, and I've sought answers, solutions, and truth on behalf of my family. I've tracked their physical locations, I’ve prayed for their relational situations, and I’ve witnessed their emotional maturation, all the while seeking what was best for our family. Seeking has always been second nature for me. My first 25 years instilled in me a desire for truth, and the past 25 years of motherhood taught me the importance of seeking truth not only selfishly, but for others as well.

And now, as I begin a new decade for me, a new season of change, I have never been more aware of my need to keep seeking. So that's what I'll do. I'll keep seeking Him above all else. I'll keep seeking the truth in His Word. I'll keep seeking wisdom to walk in His Ways. I'll keep seeking my Savior all of my days.

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm 27:4)



I’ll end this post with the same question with which I started it…What’s in a word?

My answer at the start of this post was, "More than the letters that make it up, I can assure you of that!”

And while my answer at the end of this post is somewhat the same, I'll expand a bit by saying this…

A word is much more than the letters that make it up, it is also a part of the sentence it helps construct, the paragraph that holds that sentence in place, the chapter that contains that paragraph, and the book that holds it all together.

I'm not sure where you are in your pursuit of truth. I'm not sure what your process is, or what your journey has looked like thus far. I’m not sure if you select a word, if you set goals, or if you do something different entirely.

Regardless where you find yourself today, on the heels of 2025, physically, emotionally, or spiritually, might I encourage you to join me in this pursuit of truth.

Seek.

Wholeheartedly.

Unashamedly.

Completely.

Let's become lifelong seekers, knowing that being found in Him is worth the faithful pursuit.