So every year I look back on the goals I set around New Years or the word I picked to study on, or any resolutions I set and try to give you an update about how I did. Last year I knew that there would probably be a lot going on in 2018 so I tried to keep my goals reasonable but still challenge myself. And for the first time, probably ever, I'm happy to say that I accomplished all of those goals!
When I sat down this time last year and tried to imagine what the next year would bring me I could never imagine everything that happened. In the last twelve months my brother had to have surgery and my mom and I spent almost 3 months taking turns staying at his house to help take care of him and his kids so his wife could go back to work. (I'm happy to say he's made a full recovery and is doing very well now.) Just after that my parents shut down our business we've run for half my life. That led to me starting a new job and moving to a new house with two of the coolest girls I know. My roommates and I love our place and are having a great time making it our own.
One of my other goals I set last year was for the youth group. Well the youth group has seen a lot of changes this year as some kids have moved on, some graduated last year and some younger ones have come up into middle school, leading us to look for how best to accommodate the needs for such a wide age span. I feel so blessed for the time that God has given me to be able to teach, encourage and lead trips with these awesome young people. Watching Him work in their lives is truly one of the best parts of my life and I'm excited to see what changes He'll have for them, me and our group in the year to come.
And of course the last goal that I set last year that I'm going to talk about was the goal that I wanted to connect with people more. Although I'm almost 50/50 on the introvert/extrovert scale I have a bad habit of internalizing my problems and not reaching out to people when I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed. I forget that God created us to be in community with each other and that means helping each other out. But people can't help me if they don't know anything's wrong. To that end and to the end that I wanted to be intentional about my time I made the goal to connect with people more. Whether it's the youth group or my roommates, my family, my nieces and nephews or just friends I've made a conscious effort to truly listen when people speak, ask for help when I need it and not take these special relationships God's gifted me with for granted. And it has been such a blessing!
So moving on because 2018 is almost up I spent a long time praying about what to do next year. As I've done in years past I decided to pick a word that I could carry through the year with me, which led to more prayer because in case you haven't noticed there's a LOT of words out there!
Anyways eventually I picked the word 'home'. Sounds a little funny but the fact is that home is not just a physical place. God is our refuge and, in the coming year, I want to really dwell on the fact that my home, my security and my identity is not wrapped up in things or places or even other people, it's all centered on God. He is my strength, my refuge, the one that supplies my every need. He is my home.
So that's the update on 2018 and what I'll be working on in 2019. What about you? Goals, plans, adventures or words? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below!
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