Love Radically!  

     Every year, I decide on a word… a word that becomes a mindset for my life for the year.  One word is simple and easy to remember… yet can hold so much meaning. In the past, I usually chose a word that follows the theme of a tree. This theme stems from an old high school conversation where one of my favorite teachers (shout out to Dr. Cooper) said I was like a tree….full of life, fruit, and always willing to give of myself. I took those words to heart, and decided that I wanted to live my whole life that way. So in the past, I have lived by “Cultivate” (2018) and “Rooted” (2019).

      This year, I thought about a lot of words I would want as my word for the year…”strength", “grow”, “life”; but none seemed to incorporate exactly what I wanted to see in my life, especially with the World Race coming up. Then God threw this quote at me:

“Love others so radically and so immensely that they wonder why.”

“Radical”…. this is the word that I want to live by in 2020. 

Radical

• (especially of change or action) relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.
• forming an inherent or fundamental part of the nature of someone or something.

     My first reaction was that “Radical” cannot be my word. It has nothing to do with a tree. So I did some research and radical, in fact, does have something to do with a tree. 

     Let me take you back to a fourth grade (what I teach) spelling lesson. Do you remember something called a homophone? A homophone is each of two or more words that sounds the same but is spelled differently and has different meanings. So here we have “radical” and “radicle”.

Radicle:

• the part of a plant embryo that develops into the primary root.

     The radicle is the very beginning of growth in a plant, the forming of the main root from which the entirety of the plant begins to grow. The forming of a radicle is a radical change… forming an inherent or fundamental part of the nature of someone or something. 

     So here in 2020, I hope to live by the word “Radical/Radicle”. I want Jesus to be my radicle...my main root...from which all life and fruit, love and compassion, peace and joy come from; and I want to love others so radically and so immensely that other can’t help but see my Radicle and the radical change in my life He caused. 

I pray that as I go about this year, God will continue to reveal anything and everything radical/radicle in my life. 

So here are some RADICAL words of wisdom I am taking with me throughout this year:

~ Romans 2:4 (MSG) says, “In kindness he (God/Jesus/Holy Spirit) takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change. Romans 2:4 MSG

~ “Love others so radically and so immensely that they wonder why.”

~ Plant seeds of faith, let LOVE be the radicle.

~ “Love others so radically they can’t help but see Jesus.”