Love and Faithfulness

I read a verse the other day and it has really stuck with me.  It might just be my verse for the year.

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

bind them around your neck

write them on the tablet of your heart."

--Proverbs 3:3

I love the imagery of this verse. To bind something around your neck and write it on your heart is pretty strong language! I like how the verse doesn't say "let love and faithfulness be around you sometimes".  Or display "love and faithfulness only when you feel like it".  Or only when someone deserves it.  Or only when it benefits you to do so.  Nope.  It says to let love and faithfulness NEVER leave you.  That means when it is easy to love someone or when it is difficult.  And then to put an exclamation mark on that thought, it goes on to say BIND them around your neck and WRITE them on the tablet of your heart.  

Since my mom passed away, the fact that you can't take your things with you when you go has come into sharp focus for me.  It has also become crystal clear that what really matters-- what really, really, really matters after you die is the legacy you leave behind.  When my time on earth is over, I hope the legacy I have left to my children and grandchildren is a legacy of love and faithfulness.  Oh Lord, help me to bind these two traits around my neck so that I will always be aware of them.  And carve them deep into the tablet of my heart so that they become as natural to me as breathing.  

Do you have a verse or a word for the year?  Do share!