Word for 2015: RECEIVE

RECEIVE

By: Susan Deborah Schiller

It was 3 am, this time last year, and I awakened with the thought, "Take a quantum leap!"

Startled, I arose from bed and fired up my computer, to discover that Merriam-Webster defines a quantum leap as: "An abrupt change, sudden increase, or dramatic advance."

"What do you want?"  is the question I felt God wanted me to answer.

Answering this question meant I must first believe I am worthy to receive His gift. My word for 2014 was "believe". Believing meant seeing with eyes of faith God giving me what I have been believing him for. 

As for what I was believing for, last year, I wrote it down:

2014 is my year of freedom. It's a time of jubilee. It's a year of grace, wisdom, and rest.

My book has been published and released to the public. It's in the hands of women who will also rise up, gain the courage to stand, and to let go of their shameful history, spiritual poverty, victim mentality, and destitution.

I see a long line of younger women eagerly reaching for the audio versions of my book. Those who listen to the words are transformed, strengthened, and together we become a tribe of warrior princesses.

I will believe even more. I will believe for contagious joy, creativity, and passion for life!

More women will receive the courage and strength to bare their hearts, to expose the spots and stains and wrinkles to the Overcoming Love that washes them "white as snow" and propels them to fly!

2014 is the year I am avenged for all the wrongs. My reward is several hundred souls saved from the fires of oppression and injustice.

Okay, I will believe for even greater things than this.

I will believe that former enemies will become friends. I see unity among Christians who were formerly divided against each other. I see reconciliation through humble repentance. I see contrite spirits and letters of apology.

I see our collective stories building a bridge of understanding and closing the gaps!

   I see smiles and laughter.

      I see provision, even extravagant provision.

         I see peace and prosperity in the return to a simple lifestyle… eating non-processed living foods, sewing our own clothes, growing our own garden, raising chickens, and riding bicycles or horseback.

The first thing, is to BELIEVE. To dream, to risk, to dare, to give it my all. I believe I did my best. A new person came to live in our home and we have opened our hearts to healing hers. My book isn't yet published but I'm publishing nearly daily on my website, over a million words. I spend several hours a day corresponding with survivors and speaking on the phone with women who have asked to share their stories with me.

I don't know about the "long line of women" but my days have been full with sharing stories. Some have told me that my stories have saved their lives, validated them, and empowered them to move on from their grief. A few of them are, in turn, reaching out to other survivors.

Some have written their testimonies here. 

I have published some of your stories at "Reader's Write".

I haven't yet received letters of apology or enemies becoming friends but my own heart is open. I have reached out, risking rejection. I still believe I will see enemies turned into friends, I really do. I am open to receive this miracle.

If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. — Desmond Tutu

This year, 2015, my word is RECEIVE.

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." – Matthew 21:22 NIV

2014 was a quantum leap year for me. Key parts of my life have been restored: Money and Possessions and Relationships. I've also returned to the joy and challenges of homeschooling. Making cross-country trips to visit family has been a real blessing, along with boating on the river, hikes in the woods, and great adventures.

It takes a lot of faith to rebuild your life, after the devastating losses of sociopathic abuse, but it's worth it!

We acquired an Australian Shepherd puppy, along with three fancy rats. Two wonderful horses came to live with us for part of the summer. Our lives are busy and full, yet also simple and quiet. It most certainly has been a year of "grace, wisdom, and rest… smiles and laughter… and stories"!  

There has been "extravagant provision". To have a home, food, and the ability to pursue my dreams is really all I need. But I do want more. God has promised me more. I'm ready to take another leap of faith.

I have seen a ranch – a place where orphans and widows come to rest, even for 1-2 years of "grace, wisdom, and rest" as I have received. Survivors of sociopathic abuse need refuge. They need a time to remain hidden from the wolves, to heal and be restored. They need beauty, silence, solitude, community, and provision.

This year, my word is RECEIVE. I want to believe and to receive the "more". Even as God has done for me, so may it be done for all of the victims of sociopathic abuse. For many years I have envisioned cabins, a community dining room, and nature trails.

I am asking God for this ranch. Because I have seen it in my imagination it's become a part of my heart's desire. I believe God planted the seeds of faith in me (and many others!) and therefore, the next part is to receive it, by faith. And that means to begin working on it, preparing for it's full manifestation.

RECEIVE. That's my "one word" for 2015. It's a one-word goal. You might call it a one-word New Year's Resolution. I believe God wants to do the impossible in our lives.

Is there a dream in your heart that is like a seed, perhaps buried under layers of darkness? Is it bursting to come forth? Run to the Light! Aim for the Light! Don't look downward in regrets or side-to-side in fears. Just aim for the light and run as fast as you can. Even if it's only a tiny speck of Light. Focus on it until it beams brighter. 

Writing Prompt: "Receive" is a speck of Light – a word of truth – right now for me. What might a "one-word" resolution be for you this year? Listen to your heart… what do you want? How you answer this question writes a new chapter into your life story. It's an invitation to create your world, with God!