Each year I try to come up with a word of the year to weave into my intention. My long-time intention that I created in yoga teacher training school is trust. This has served me well over the years. A trust deeply woven into my unique spirituality. We all have this uniqueness; I think this is part of the reason that I have hesitated to saddle up with a specific church. I am a nonconformist. I do not need community. My community is the woods! Ok absolutely the trees, clouds and crunch of the earth will always be my peeps and I feel most free and close to God or what God says I am in the woods BUT I have found a church I may call home and I feel pretty lit up about it. The atmosphere is all joy and light but also biblically based and seeped in universal truth, reverence, grace and even humility. I am new to this feeling and I am going to tend it.

Yes, this is my word of the year, tend! It arose while I was listening to a song written and sung by my pastor’s sons called Prepare the Way. The artist sings like he is echoing these ancient words from the book of Isaiah: A voice cries and he hears it, prepare the way, for the lord is coming soon, sing praises to his name, like a highway in the desert for our God. Every valley shall be lifted. Every mountain hill be made low. The uneven ground and the rough places planed. Prepare the way. .- adapted from Isaiah 40:3-5 This song just fills me with hope and senseless joy. So, I thought prepare might be my word. But I sensed this wasn’t quite what I was searching for but lead me down the road to tend.

My word of the year last year was abide. I feel like this word is like a mirror to my current self and soul. My yoga training led me to this place of acceptance and nonattachment, making peace with my reality and abiding in all thing. So, this word was pretty easy to embody (ok to be honest on my best days abiding is easy but not always, spiritual transformation is always a practice not a perfect!) In fact, to be honest I often forgot about my guiding word. This year I was thinking a bit more attention and action might be required, tend.

You see we all have a lot to tend to. For me, this word resonated on many levels. I have often likened my spirituality to the wind, ever present, a source of Jesuses constant presence guiding my actions and peace in all things. Now, maybe I need just a bit more fire. The fire of the yogi’s quality of tapas or burning enthusiasm or dedication: dedication to tend to my relationship with God. Hence why I am willing to commit to a church that has opened its doors and arms like no other. I just feel welcome and like God has guided me there. I know attending services will be part of my tapas practice, or a way of tending the fire of my Faith. But this isn’t the only practice or place to tend to spiritual growth. I searched the gospel for more direction and discernment and I stumbled on this amazing verse from John, with words of wisdom from Jesus;

John 15:1-5; I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father. He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. The words I have spoken over you have already cleansed you. So you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine. I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless.

I love the analogy that Jesus uses here, God as the farmer who tends the vine of Jesus as well as us! I also like the idea of pruning, like all gardeners do. We must prune away what no longer serves. When we do this, I believe we see more clearly the union we have with Jesus and connect more organically with his guiding force and presence in our lives; Fruitfulness will stream from within us. By doing so we bear more fruit. This is what I wish to manifest tending the garden of my life; my thoughts, my actions and deeds so that I will become a healthier branch both more rooted in Faith personally and also so that I may touch others.

Paul speaks eloquently of this idea in Romans 14:19: So then let us pursue the things which tend to peace, and things whereby one shall build up another. Tending to peace. Just this would be a lofty new year’s resolution! But I am willing to take on the challenge. Although I am not actively teaching yoga at this time, for years I felt like I planted these seeds of peace and continue to do so in my work with patients, in my writing and as a child of God.

My yoga teacher training discussed karma yoga or the idea that all of our actions in our work life can lead to peace just by the way we show up. It honestly doesn’t matter what you do for work, it is more about attitude, how you treat others and trying your best. I believe in this way we bring peace to our work place and the world and build each other up. Tending the field of our work and or words is another worthwhile practice that can bring peace to a sometimes strained world and work environment just by tending our own energy. This can be an ongoing practice of minding our words, consider is it true, it is kind, is it necessary? I attest I have probably uttered many unnecessary words Practice, tend.

After Jesus’s resurrection he met the disciples on the shore after fishing. He cooked breakfast for them and spoke with Peter; Now when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” John 21:15. This is very clear instruction from Jesus to care for his people, not just for the disciples but for all of us to tend to each other. To be like him and to walk like him, love like him.

Let it not be lost to us that tend is the root word of tender. Can we tenderly approach these new years resolutions. Can we see our walk in faith as a mindfulness practice. Let us also recall that spiritual practice is just that practice, because God loves us, we get do overs. He does not expect perfection. So, if we set out to tend to some area of our lives and we feel we have messes up, all is not lost! Jesus worked best with those brought low and helps us plane the rough places. Perhaps the adversity we face and all the stumbling is just this a way to prepare the way, so that we might stand taller maybe walking on more even ground with Jesus by our side and accepting the handiwork of God tending to our hearts and lives.