Every year, I ask God for a word. Not a trendy word. A true one. The kind that shapes how I live.

When I began praying about 2026, nothing came. I waited. I listened. I prayed.

Then I opened my Bible and landed in Gospel of Luke 18, the story of the persistent widow.

Jesus tells of a widow who keeps returning to a ruler, asking for justice. Scripture is clear about this man. He did not fear God or respect people. He was not compassionate. He was not righteous. And yet, the widow kept coming back.

She was not asking for anything extravagant or undeserved. She was asking for what was right.

Eventually, the ruler gives in. Not because his heart changed, but because her persistence wore him down. Jesus uses this parable to encourage us to live consistent prayer lives. His point is simple and powerful. If an unjust ruler will respond to persistent requests, how much more will our just and loving Heavenly Father respond to His children?

That is when the word finally landed for me.

Persistence.

And honestly, I did not want it. Because persistence costs something. It requires showing up when it is hard, staying consistent when results are not immediate, and choosing obedience over comfort.

But this is the invitation of 2026.

For me, persistence looks like:

• daily time with the Lord
  
• consistent prayer
  
• building relationships even when rejection is possible
  
• keeping promises to myself
  
• choosing focus over distraction
  
• doing what is hard now while trusting God with the harvest 

What I love about having this as my word is that it is rooted in Scripture. When the year gets hard or noisy, I have a true focal point I can keep coming back to. God’s Word gives me something steady to return to when I am tempted to quit.

I want to invite you to consider that as well. Choose a word or focus that is anchored in Scripture, something you can return to again and again throughout the year.

God’s Word reminds us that we reap what we sow. When we sow faithfully into good soil, a harvest will come.

So this is my prayer for the year ahead:

Lord, make me persistent.

Persistent in seeking You.

Persistent in obedience.

Persistent in prayer.

I believe this with everything in me.

2026 is sowing season.

And 2026 is harvest season.

And I do not want to miss either one.

Your Real Estate Bestie,