2014.
Wow. What a year. A year full of so much joy but also pain. A year full of new beginnings and some sad endings. A year full of adventure and exploring but also one of feeling lost at times. A year full of lots of love and growth but also times of doubt and despair. But man, has it been a good one. There have been many highs and few lows which I am very thankful for. Some of the best days were made when I wasn't trying so hard to make them happen. I have truly began to see what really matters in life and what doesn't. In this year, I have grown so much not only as a person but with my relationship with God as well. God has become the center of my life, my very best friend. I have found that I can only become completely and utterly satisfied. I have come to find myself in him and in turn have really started to see all the good he has done for me in my life. This year, for me, has been a year of giving thanks. A year of being thankful for all that God has given me but also all that God has taken from me. I have learned not only to be thankful for all the good times and the good people he puts in my life but also the bad times because they too are the pieces that help build me into the person I'm supposed to be. This year, I have realized merely just a fraction of the grace God has given us and the healing power through a life with him. This year I have been challenged and tested in ways I never have before and I've had a God who has been faithful in me the whole time. He has never left me, forgotten me, or forsaken me, and I think that is something we tend to forget. We like to believe that all these challenges and hard times are somehow God's way of punishing us or knocking us down but really I think its just his way of leading us back to him. Because no matter how much changes, he doesn't. This year God has blessed me abundantly in friends and experiences and family, but also in faith. I'm not the same person I was at the beginning of this year and for that I am thankful. But I do know that the growing and the learning never stops and that God still has so much more for me to learn and experience in this next year.
2015.
A new beginning. A new set of blank pages to write a new story on. It is such a bittersweet feeling. Exciting because its a fresh start, a new chance to start over and to change old habits and make resolutions. Scary because I have no idea what to expect out of this year and I am going to be put out of my comfort zone in so many instances. But to me, it is more exciting than anything because I know that my God is ever faithful and always present. After how great 2014 was, I can't wait to see what this next year holds. This is the year that I will be challenged and tested like never before, living halfway across the world from my friends and family. I'm going to be in a different culture with new faces and new customs to learn and appreciate. Although it appears scary at times, all this new change that I'm about to experience, the joy and excitement I feel is hard to contain. This year holds so much growth and learning to be done and I can't wait to see what life is like outside of sweet ole Texas. My heart is ready, my hands are open. I pray that the Lord continues to work in wonderful ways in my life to continue to make and mold me into the person I am supposed to be. Here's to a year full of new adventures, new places, and new faces. To be pushed beyond my limits and experiencing even more highs and lows. Welcome to the year of open hearts and holding onto nothing. To wading into the deep waters of mercy and grace that patiently await my arrival.
