It's been a while since I last wrote, and I've thought a lot about what to write, but nothing big has come to mind. Life keeps moving on, and school life has become somewhat normal, so there isn't much newness to write about there.
Let's see, since last time I wrote, I spent Christmas with my grandparents and sister in Florida. It was a lovely break with surprisingly warm weather. Not that warm weather is surprising for Florida, but I wasn't expecting it to be QUITE as warm as it was. I got a lot of scrapbooking done (although it's never enough!!) and got to spend quality time with my family, which is all I wanted for the holidays!
I went to Chosen, the women's conference through my church, at the end of January, and was spiritually filled up and refreshed. It's so great to be surrounded by God-loving women for a couple of days, and to be poured into by the women around you and the fantastic speakers. It was so much fun, and so needed, and I can't wait for next year. Thanks to my mom (early birthday present!), I've already bought my ticket--and even my sister will be joining me next year!
In one of the messages at church after the New Year, and in one of the messages from a speaker at Chosen, a Word of the Year was mentioned. This is a word that represents your coming year--either what you want your year to reflect or something you want to change. I went to the website (getoneword.com) hoping there'd be a quiz or questionnaire to fill out and my word would be given to me, but it's not that simple--because it has to be individual and much more personal than a 15-question quiz, or whatever I was expecting. The more I thought about it, the more the word "Brave" came to mind. Honestly, I think this is a word that reflects my life. I wouldn't exactly call myself a brave person, but there are a lot of situations or life events where I have had to be brave--in little and big ways. Sometimes I don't even realize it was brave until afterwards--like moving to a foreign country without knowing anyone. So I think my word for this year is brave--that I need to not be so afraid of things and take some risks that I might normally resist.
Another life word I've consistently come back to is "Patience." I would call myself a patient person in most aspects of my life. My one exception would be driving. I am an impatient driver (although I don't take it out in my driving, I can be known to yell at drivers from the quiet inside of my car.), but in probably all other ways, I'm pretty patient. Life is full of seasons, which is a metaphor I've loved especially in the past couple of years. Some seasons are short and some are long; some seasons are great and some are greatly difficult. Regardless of the season, I know that God has a plan for my life and a purpose for the season. Sometimes I find myself impatient in a season, whether that's the speed of getting into a season or the speed of getting out of one, and I'm constantly reminded that I need to be patient, because God's timing is perfect and His plan for me is on a much better timetable than my own. It's been proven over and over again, and yet it's still not always easy to be patient. And sometimes I need to be patient and brave, especially brave in trusting in God's plan. It's hard to be brave and patient, but I'm trying.
