2015 Review - A Year of Growing

Goodness! 2015 has been a big year! I finished my Junior year of high school and started my Senior year. I worked at Boy Scout camp. I slept in a tent most of the summer. I started courting. I learned a lot, cried a lot, laughed a lot, and grew a lot.

Here are some things I learned this year:

Saying "no" is okay. You would think that saying "no" would be easier, but unfortunately it is a developed skill. I don't know how it happened, but I found that I was okay with saying "no." Not just to things, but also people.

Bouncing off that, I also learned to value myself. When you start (it's always a process, never a destination) learning how to say "no" to things and people, you learn how to value yourself. You learn that being put down is not okay. You may not be able to stand up to that person, but you don't have to swallow all they have to say (again, this is a constant process). Learning to filter hurtful words is important and something I am really bad at. However, it is crucial to growth.

Another thing I learned is that God has a sense of humor. I worked at a BOY SCOUT CAMP! Like, whattttttt??? I still can't believe I did that. I swore to myself and everyone else that I wouldn't, but when God wants you to go somewhere, he is incredibly persistent even when you try and fight Him!

I also swore to anyone who would listen (people, rocks, trees, walls, etc.) that I wouldn't get a boyfriend this summer. Yes, I was working at the ideal place to have any guy of my choosing, but that simply wasn't why I was there! I had a job to do. So camp goes along, I get home, am relentlessly pursued by this guy, wrestle with God again (you would think that I would learn!) and wind up with a boyfriend.

There are times I swear that my life is more of a comedy act than anything else!

Courage and leaps of faith are yet another thing I learned a lot about this year. It takes a lot of courage and faith to go somewhere where you may be rejected and put down. It takes a lot of courage and faith to step into the unknown. It takes a lot of courage and faith to love people without expectations. And, on a humorous note, it takes a lot of courage and faith to sleep in a tent where dozens and dozens of large grasshoppers line the walls. That may have taken more courage that anything else!

Lastly, I would like to mention that I learned that in order to live boldly, courageously, hopefully, faithfully, lovingly, and understanding of my value, I have to live in Christ. Constantly and intentionally.

I heard an illustration recently of a bicycle wheel. When Christ is the center of the wheel, all the spokes on that wheel reflect Him. They run well because of who He is. When we try to make God one of the spokes and put ourselves or something else at the center of the wheel, things go wrong and plans fail. I would not be who or where I am now without Christ. Did I mess up often this year? Definitely. Did I put myself and other things at the center of that wheel? Yes. But we serve a very faithful and patient God who takes us back each and every time we fail.

May you be able to look back and see how God worked this past year as you look forward into this upcoming year!