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| December 18, 2015 |
I've been reflecting on 2015 over the last month or so and I've really liked what I've found. One day it hit me: 2015 was a year of almost no anxiety. No matter how hard I try to figure out WHY that was, I keep coming up without an answer. It could be so very many things...
I found myself in South Carolina TWICE in 2015. It was so good for my soul. The kind of good that you can't quite explain. The kind of good that makes your eyes well up with the happiest of tears just thinking about it.
I chose three words for the year and did little more than kick them around every now and then. Reading over my hopes for 2015 makes me praise God because the hope that I wrote about on January 5th could be turned into a description of the year as I sit here on December 29th.
I read the entire Bible. I found a church. I house hunted until I couldn't house hunt any more. I made new friends. I finished college. I read a variety of books and learned a lot from the people that wrote them (E.B. White, Richard Adams, Madeleine L'Engle, and Andrew Murray in particular).
Yesterday morning I found myself standing on the sidewalk chatting with the neighbors. It was 10am and we were all in our pajamas. I was out shoveling snow and they were enjoying cigarettes on their porch. After I put the shovel away in the garage, I headed back into the house with all kinds of thoughts flying around in my mind.
When I rang in 2015 in Georgia, I had no idea what the year would hold. I was 24 and I was sure of one thing: I wanted to continue trusting in God and looking to Him for direction. As it turned out, He took me to some pretty great places and gave me a taste of the JOY and CERTAINTY that come with trusting Him. The thing is, 24 year old Victoria didn't want to or try to get rid of her anxiety any more than her younger self.
As I prepare to ring in another new year that leaves me with even more room to question, I'm setting my hope in God once more. I'm grateful for gifts of God's grace and I'm longing for them to stay with me in the days to come. In all that I found myself doing and enjoying in 2015, the theme was RECEIVING.
"For in Him we live and move and have our being..." Acts 17:28
May 2016 be a year of continuing in Him.
I'm hoping you'll end up in SC again in 2016 and this time we'll manage to meet in person. I pray you trust in Him this year, giving Him your burdens and anxiety.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like 2015 was an awesome year for you and you accomplished SO much!! You should be so proud. :) Do you have a word picked out for 2016 yet?
ReplyDeleteAnd yet another post of yours that I couldn't love more. :) Girl, it is always such a breath of fresh air reading your blog. I feel like I can sit down and curl up with a cozy blanket while reading your words that always point me back to Jesus. I love that you've found joy and certainty in trusting--it's something that definitely does not come naturally for me! I also love that God brought you to and through so many places and that you accomplished so much, too. Excited to see what 2016 has in store for you!
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