Letting go of 2012 will not be to difficult for me to do. I have been anxiously awaiting this new year, the hope of 2013, and the idea of a fresh start excite me. In reflecting over this past year and all it's newnesses, blessings, heartbreaks, and frustrations I felt that God told me that 2012 was the year of letting go.
This past year we took the grand leap of faith and moved three and a half hours south to the small city of Scottsburg to become part of a ministry staff at a small but growing church. I have peace in this move because I know that it was a calling God placed on our hearts, but it has been a very difficult act of faith to be obedient with. I have never lived more than an hour away from my parents and am used to dropping by for a family dinner, or running a quick errand with my mom while discussing anything and everything that pops to mind, finding my dad in the backyard and sitting on the porch swing with him---never having to say much but always feeling his arm around me and his love for me. These are all things that you somehow take for granted on a daily basis and when they aren't there leave you feeling a void the size of a small crater in your life.
There have been so many blessings this year, I have never felt more close to my husband as I do after this past year, I have met so many amazing people who have been placed in our lives by God to encourage and grow us, and I have felt God's hand of protection and providence through every tear and sorrow. This past year was about letting go of the things that I thought defined me, it was about not relying on anyone other than God to provide and protect me, and it was about understanding what my faith truly meant to me when I had to walk the walk on my own.
I think a person's greatest fear is loneliness and in the fear of somehow disappearing along the way. We cling to things that we hope people will recognize us by or understand us better from, all because we long to stand on common ground. I know from experience that God will shake that ground because He wants us to realize for ourselves that our foundation should be in Him and Him alone and that all else is sinking ground. It seems when the world is crumbling all around us is when God extends His hand to us and says, "Fear not, I am with you always."
I am confident that 2013 is going to be a year of understanding and of blessings because God has extended His hand to me and has told me to fear not. My foundation will be stronger this year as I have learned how to let go and to trust God in leading the way. I'm sure 2013 will come with it's own trials and tribulations but I survived 2012 and have a confidence now in knowing that I am never alone, nor can I disappear from God's mighty hand.
Praying God's blessings on you in 2013.
This past year we took the grand leap of faith and moved three and a half hours south to the small city of Scottsburg to become part of a ministry staff at a small but growing church. I have peace in this move because I know that it was a calling God placed on our hearts, but it has been a very difficult act of faith to be obedient with. I have never lived more than an hour away from my parents and am used to dropping by for a family dinner, or running a quick errand with my mom while discussing anything and everything that pops to mind, finding my dad in the backyard and sitting on the porch swing with him---never having to say much but always feeling his arm around me and his love for me. These are all things that you somehow take for granted on a daily basis and when they aren't there leave you feeling a void the size of a small crater in your life.
There have been so many blessings this year, I have never felt more close to my husband as I do after this past year, I have met so many amazing people who have been placed in our lives by God to encourage and grow us, and I have felt God's hand of protection and providence through every tear and sorrow. This past year was about letting go of the things that I thought defined me, it was about not relying on anyone other than God to provide and protect me, and it was about understanding what my faith truly meant to me when I had to walk the walk on my own.
I think a person's greatest fear is loneliness and in the fear of somehow disappearing along the way. We cling to things that we hope people will recognize us by or understand us better from, all because we long to stand on common ground. I know from experience that God will shake that ground because He wants us to realize for ourselves that our foundation should be in Him and Him alone and that all else is sinking ground. It seems when the world is crumbling all around us is when God extends His hand to us and says, "Fear not, I am with you always."
I am confident that 2013 is going to be a year of understanding and of blessings because God has extended His hand to me and has told me to fear not. My foundation will be stronger this year as I have learned how to let go and to trust God in leading the way. I'm sure 2013 will come with it's own trials and tribulations but I survived 2012 and have a confidence now in knowing that I am never alone, nor can I disappear from God's mighty hand.
Praying God's blessings on you in 2013.
