I asked 28 to surprise me, challenge me, and scare me and I spent many days of the past year asking myself why the heck did you do that? This past year absolutely scared me. I had days of feeling loneliness in such a deep and scary way. I also experienced the deep and beautiful feeling of community and family and the way we can love each other into wholeness. 28 definitely also challenged me and surprised me. I grew in ways I could not have foreseen, and have been pleasantly and not-so pleasantly surprised by the events of the year.
So to 28, I say “BOY BYEEE!” But really I will look back at you with gratitude for all the hard lessons and big growth. I will not look back for long because I am walking forward into new days, one day at a time — one step at a time. Walking forward with confidence in who God is, leaning fully on His consistent character, His overwhelming grace, and His perfect peace.
So 29, I promise to let you be exactly what you are supposed to be. As the last year of my twenties, it will be tempting to make you what I think you are supposed to be; to make things happen quickly, to figure things out, to get all my young adult ducks in a row. But I am going to take you one.dang.day at a time, letting life continue to surprise me, and maybe in that offering freedom to people coming behind me.
So I’m choosing to run. I’m choosing to say yes to depth in relationship, to the scary new things, to knowing Jesus even more personally each day. I’m choosing to read Scripture and figure out what I believe. I’m choosing to fill the space God has given me, to step into my life and stretch it to its limits.
Here I am, arriving at another birthday. Twenty-five turned out to be the best year yet, and I am sad to say goodbye to it. But in the spirit of optimism, I’m out to make 26 even better.
When I am running the marathon of my life, God takes the backburner and I run until I realize I have been running on empty for way too long and find myself on the floor asking for more of Him because I have nothing solid to stand on.
I have spent the past week in Chicago at a conference for Christians in student development. I have loved learning and thinking about my role, and listening to people teach about it who are really good at what they do. It has made me, more than think about what I do, ponder who I want […]
Last weekend I went to a 90’s pop princesses sing-along, where they handed out glow sticks and miniature British flags and sticks with the faces of the men from Bridget Jones’s Diary on them. We danced and sang along to En Vogue, Ace of Base, Destiny’s Child, and of course, the Spice Girls. There were […]
this life's blessings 