Happy new year! Can you believe that it's already 2012?! The beginning of a new year comes with much anticipation, excitement, and quite a few unknowns. I look forward to making progress in my bachelor's degree in communication/English, nannying for the most amazing family, traveling as much as my bank account will allow, hopefully finding a nice place to live downtown with a dear friend, and so much more. I'm starting the year off right by heading down to sunny California next week for Nicole's wedding - an old roommate from teen mania. This is my first time as a bridesmaid and I am SO excited!
Trips to California and the inevitability of school approaching aside, I can't help but wonder what God is going to do in my life this year. I keep coming back to the idea of PURPOSE. What IS my purpose this year? I am definitely a planner and detail-oriented person... The downside to that is that I feel the need to know everything before it happens. Unfortunately, that is definitely not how life works, especially as a follower of Christ. When I chose to follow Jesus I gave up my right to run my own life. I surrendered every single little part of me to Him. Even still, every now and then I get myself back in this place where I feel the need to plan it all out and take back control of my life.
I skyped with one of my mentors from Texas, Sarah Beth, today and she updated me on life in the office of Acquire the Fire Operations - the place I worked for three years at Teen Mania. My last year there, I spent a lot of time questioning my purpose for being there. I didn't feel like I was doing anything productive at all. She explained to me, a year and a half later, that she sees a clear difference in the atmosphere and comaraderie throughout the office. That means that I was doing something important when I was there, far more important than I even knew.
That realization hit me and made me think that sometimes you don't know the purpose of a season of life until after it has come and gone. Sometimes you don't know the purpose for a long time. I believe that God has purpose in everything He does, so why should I question His plan? Even when I am confused or don't understand, He has complete control and is not caught off guard by any of the curve balls life tends to throw my way.
So... Here's to the beginning of a new year with 365 days of purpose!
hey, so i think that actually, it's 2012, not 2011... :)
ReplyDeletehahahha! Oh man. That is too funny. How embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteYour last paragraph is so, so, so true. It is so hard to trust God in the seasons of life that seem to stink, but your right, there is such great purpose in everything God does.
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