intentionality

This past weekend I had the privilege of going on my annual personal prayer and planning retreat. I try to do this near the beginning of each year in order to prayerfully reflect upon the past year and to ask the Lord what He may have for me in the coming year. He will often give me a word/focus/theme for the year. Here are some words or phrases He’s given me in recent years: surrender; follow through/obedience; and saying “no” to fear. This past weekend I felt He was revealing to me that I needed to once again focus on intentionality. Every relationship requires intentionality to grow. My best friendships are the ones in which we’ve set up regular times to check in with each other, no matter how busy and chaotic our lives are at the moment. So why have I sometimes neglected to do this with the Lord, the most important relationship that I have? This was a humbling realization, but I look forward to seeing how I will grow with Him this year.