Hi there! I apologize for my absence over the past month. Life took my by surprise and I honestly have been distracted by things, but the biggest one was work. Now that my busy season has slowed, I am looking forward to getting back into my swing of things.
The past few months have been a challenge for sure. I have learned a lot about myself, grown some, and seen so many areas to grow. I am also just so thankful for where God has me in life. Yes, there are some challenges. We all have our good days and bad, but when I sit back and look at it, I am just amazed at the work God is doing in my life and in those around me.
He has blessed me with a community of friends that are my family. I am learning what it means to break down walls - to truly share life with others. That is something that has always been scary for me. What if people don't like what they see behind those walls? One of the people closest to me once said that they like what they've seen since I stopped trying to hide behind things and that made sense, because that is how God made me. I wouldn't say I have completely broken them down, but I am on my way.
The biggest thing I have learned over the past couple of months is that I really need to work on trusting God. I have always had a strong faith in God, but I didn't realize how that didn't match up with me trusting Him. That may be confusing to some, so let me try to break it down. I believe that God is good. I have faith in His plan and that He knows what He is doing. But daily, I am not acting like I trust Him to come through for me. I expect the worse in some situations, don't believe He values me just as much as the next person, and think that I have to work hard to please Him. Yikes! I am happy to say that He has revealed these things to me and that I can rely on Him to help me displace those feelings.
I also just accomplished something I NEVER thought I would. I ran a half marathon. Well, ran most of it. My goal leading up to it was to run the entire race. The day came and it didn't happen. Surprisingly, I am not too disappointed with myself and I am ready to try again! More than anything, I will remember the journey it took to get me there. The faith that I had to have in myself to be able to do it, and actually taking action to train and push myself farther than I ever could. And I am not just talking physically. Running is pretty much paralleled to my spiritual life. I am looking forward to continuing to improve in both.
We are in an interesting session now - not the usual teaching and community, but I fully believe that God will use this time to work these things out of me and strengthen my relationship with him and those in my community.
So as I leave this season of my life and enter another, I can do nothing but sit back in amazement and gratitude for God's work. The things that He has called me to so that I can mature and grow, the relationships He has brought in my life for encouragement and support, the challenges, the memories, I could go on for a while. (And I would be silly to not thank those of you who were by my side the whole time - the ones who had to deal with my crabbiness, anxiety, processing, etc. and who also shared in the victories, growth, and fun.)
I am so excited to see what He has in store for us in the coming months. I know He will continue to amaze me and show me His goodness through all things.
