My 2026 Word of the Year: Delight

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I choose a word of the year annually. This has been a practice of mine for almost a decade. Last year, my word of the year was surrender and boy was it a year for the memory books. It was a hard word to choose because I knew the year ahead would be a journey, but God called me to surrender to His plans. It was a hard pill to swallow. I often found myself fighting to reach the steering wheel of the car that God was driving. But after reflecting on the choice, it was the best decision because it grew my faith and deepened my relationship with God.

During my year of surrender, I truly got to know the character of God. He is a God of good things. He is sovereign. He is comforting during times of distress. He comes with peace.

You can read about the process I use to discover my word of the year here. It involves prayer, reflection and listening with intention.

For 2026, my word of the year did not come to me swiftly. It took time, lots of repeated prayers for clarity and a little frustration before a word finally came to me. I mulled over the words restoration, restore and renew. And finally, I realized it had been staring me in my face all along.

Months earlier, I printed out a photo block with a scripture for my desk from Walgreens. It was the scripture: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4.

My word of the year for 2026 is delight. To delight in the day-to-day things God is doing in my life. To live a life marked by happiness, gratitude and joy.

Days later, I received further confirmation, the word came again through a song, and then once more after a prayer session when the Holy Spirit said, “Just relax and delight in Me.”

For me, delight means intentionally spending more time in God’s word, showing gratitude for everything He has given me and living a more carefree life knowing that God will deliver on His promises.

The last two years have been filled with ups and downs, life lessons and a period of deep growth. For the first time in a while, I can peacefully say I am looking forward to 2026 and what God has in store. The first month of this year has been off to an amazing start. My life is moving fast but I am grateful for all God is doing.

To live a year of Delight, I am grounding myself in a few intentions:
• Deepening my time in Scripture and prayer and spending less time on social media.
• Choosing gratitude, relationships and rhythms that make my life feel full, positive and joyful. Remembering to thank God daily for every moment of joy.
• Letting go of things and people that are distractions and do not flow with ease. Also trusting God’s timing.

I am off to a slow start with writing this year, but my goal is to capture moments of delight throughout the month and share highlights on my Substack.

My previous words of the year:

2025: Surrender

2024: Joy

2023: Believe

2022: Intentional

2021: Confidence

2020: Bloom

2019: Overflow