God Speaks in Echoes
January 30, 2021… Sometimes He has to repeat Himself until we finally get it.
For years now, I’ve asked God to give me a “word for the year.” And every time, He shows up sometimes with a word, a color, a number, a phrase, a song lyric, even a random sign. Listen He’s the Creator of everything, and He’ll use anything in His creation to get your attention. Truth is, He’s been speaking to us since the day we were born. Most of the time, we just need to slow down long enough to listen.
Last year, in 2020, God gave me a number: #11. At first I was like… “Uhhh okay what am I supposed to do with that?” You know me, I always want a scripture to anchor the word, so I started digging. Eventually, I landed on Psalm 30:11 “You turned my mourning into dancing.” And let me just say… #SOGOOD.
Fast forward to January 1, 2021. I’m journaling again, asking God, “What’s my word this year?” What I heard was: Beautiful. To which I immediately responded, “That can’t be it I use that word all the time.” I was about 80% sure it was the right word… but I needed confirmation.
January 2, 2021:
Helana Griggs and I are driving to a service. Spotify is on shuffle, and Rain/Reign by Hillsong comes on. I casually mention, “Helana, this song has randomly played every time I’ve gotten in my car for the past two weeks.” (Take note… that was Echo #1.)
January 3, 2021:
Still praying, still unsure. But then I stumbled across Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything BEAUTIFUL in its time.” The 11 again. #Echo I even made a verse collage graphic with it. (See Pic 1.) Now I’m like… okay… I’m 90% sure Beautiful is my word. But y’all know me—I’m either a dumb blonde, stubborn, or both. 😂
January 5, 2021:
I open my TimeHop app. One year ago to the day January 5, 2020 I’d made the exact same collage with Ecclesiastes 3:11. Y’all. THE SAME VERSE. THE SAME IMAGE. #Echo #95% Sure
Later that morning, I’m driving to the salon. Shuffle is still on. Guess what song plays again? Rain/Reign. At this point I say out loud, “OK, God what is it You’re trying to say to me? I’m listening!” And BOOM!!!, there it was first line of the song: “Everything starts in You, made to be BEAUTIFUL.”
That was it. The final Echo. The mic drop. The confirmation. And I knew deep in my soul—Beautiful is my word for 2021. 💯
Sometimes it takes a few echoes before we hear Him clearly. But don’t give up He’ll keep speaking until you know that you know that you know. 💥 I don’t know what this year will hold, but I do know this: It will be BEAUTIFUL.
And by the end of 2021, with joyful laughter, I’ll be saying,
“Can you believe this is my BEAUTIFUL life?” 🦋❤️
Rachel, Xoxo!