Renew at Chinese New Year

Maybelle Crabtree here. Gong hei fat choy! That is Cantonese for “wishing you happiness and prosperity.” Yes, it’s that time of the year again: Chinese New Year. It’s also that time of the year when I share my One Word for the year 2022. If you are new to my blog, or would just like a review, click here to read my 2020 post about what One Word is all about. You can also click here to read about my 2021 One Word.

But First – Some Info About Chinese New Year

This is the year 4720 in China and the astrological sign this year is the tiger. The tiger is China’s king of all beast and represents the qualities of competitiveness, self-confidence, bravery, and possesses great will power and strength. If your age is divisible this year by 12, this is your year! Congratulations and happy birthday!

Chinese New Year is also known as the Lunar New Year and consists of the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival and lasts for 15 days. The first 11 days are devoted to the activities and offerings of the Spring Festival. The next 3 are the preparation days for the Lantern Festival which ends the celebration.

Some food to eat during this period are dumplings for sending away the old and welcoming the new; noodles for long life (the longer the better obviously. So think spaghetti instead of penne.); eggs for a big and healthy family; shrimp for fortune and wealth; roasted pig for peace; duck for loyalty; and the dessert Nian Gao (rice cake) which means every year will be better than the last.

There is, of course, more but I’ll save it for another post. Now for the moment you have all been waiting for with bated breath: the revealing of my 2022 One Word.

Drum Roll Please…

Renew is my One Word for 2022! According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, renew is to make like new: restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection; to make new spiritually; regenerate; and to begin again: resume. It can also mean to resume an activity after an interruption and to give fresh life or strength; revive.

Now I’m going to be honest with you. I did not want “renew” as my word. No Sirree Bob. I wanted a better word like strong, thanks, hope, bless, joy, or simply, write. The word, renew, seemed to me like I would be forgetting about Tom and I didn’t want to do that. But there I was praying to God; asking Him for His guidance in the selection of my word, and every time “renew” popped into my head. No way around it. God wants me to renew this year.

Well, when God keeps telling you to do something, you better do it. So that’s what I’m doing. Following His will to renew my life. So here is how I am planning to “renew” my life.

Renew My Commitment to Blogging

I have gotten a little lax, to say the least, in my blog writing. People seem to be forgiving in that aspect. Sometimes just getting out of bed in the morning and changing your clothes is a major accomplishment when you’re grieving the death of your husband. But Tom would want me to continue writing. He smiled every time he read about himself. He called himself my muse. Maybe he was. I don’t know. But I do know he was my biggest supporter. So in his honor, I will continue.

Renew my Creative Energies

Besides continuing the blog, I’m thinking of writing that novel I always said I would write. What will it be? I don’t know. Genre? I have no idea. But I will start the process if nothing else. I will jot down ideas, create possible characters, maybe even do an outline and see what I have by the end of the year.

Renew My Musical Talents

A few years ago, I bought an ukulele. It was a spur of the moment purchase after hearing Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Do you know where that ukulele is now? In a closet collecting dust. I’m taking it out of that closet, getting the dust off, and learning to play it. May not be able to play Somewhere Over the Rainbow but I will play something.

Renew My Spirituality

This I will do by devoting more time to reading the Bible. Oh, I do daily devotionals now but that usually just consists of a verse or 2 of Scripture. And I do belong to a Bible study at church. But this year I’m going deeper. I going to read unfamiliar books to me like Lamentations, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Jude. Dive into the meaning behind the words and see how I can apply them to my life.

Okay, I may have gone overboard in renewing my life. But I am excited about it. Every word I have chosen has changed my life. I may have started to drag my feet on this one but God really does know what’s best for me. If He wants me to renew my life, then that is what I’m going to do. And every time I see a butterfly I will remind myself to renew.

Well, that’s it for now. Let me know what your word is and why you, or God, chose it in the comment section down below. Maybelle Crabtree signing off.