I've done this for a few years now...picked a word that would encompass something I wanted to work on, lean on, learn in the coming year. 

Last year, it was Trust. The year before that, Jesus. 

This year? 

This year, I'm choosing Joy. 

Because no matter what--joy is possible. Joy can be found everywhere. 

I want 2016 to be a year of unbridled joy. 

This isn't because I'm an unjoyful person. I generally try to keep pretty cheerful and find happiness in basic things. If it's a day where everyone's out of the hospital at the end of it, then it's by default a good day. 

In Ann Voskamp's 1000 Gifts, she talks about the roots of the word eucharisteo: thanksgiving. The word charis, grace, is there, but also the derivative of charis--chara. Joy. 

Grace, thanksgiving, joy--all in one word. 

And of course, Eucharist--eucharisteo. Jesus gave thanks at the Last Supper. The Eucharist, the Precious Body and Blood of Christ that we Catholics can receive every single day--it's Thanksgiving. 

Do we treat it like that? 

Joy and gratitude are inexplicably bound up, even in etymology. So this year, I'm going to find that Joy--Joy overflowing and superabundant. Joy always.