So 2009. Honestly, this year has kinda been a blur. I was pregnant for a third of it. I was in new mommy blur for the next third. And for this last third? Well, I'm not sure where it went. I'm not even sure it came for that matter!
So what has this year held? A lot of precious blessings! Like this little bundle of joy.
And like watching him go from a squirmy little 7# newborn into an 18# crawling, getting into everything, baby.
And like lots of precious moments watching this one develop into a "big" girl (with hair).
Physical growth is something that is tangible. It's something that only needs to be observed by the human eye. It's something that, when your children are little like mine are, is amazing to go back and look at. But growth happens to everyone.
Spiritual growth is a little harder to detect. It's something that an idivudual has to purposefully work to achieve....and to maintain. And it's something that the outsider can recognize, but it's harder to see. You can look back on the past days and months and and know that some growth has occured, but you are unsure as how to accurately measure that. It's like the life of a plant. You must first plant a seed. Then you water and nourish that small seed. Just when you wonder if that seed will sprout, surely and steadily you see a green bud. Then a stem. And finally a beautiful flower. But that process, though it might only take a few weeks, is entirely different when spoken in terms of spiritual growth. It's a slow process. One that takes diligence. One that takes patience. But one that will payoff in the end when we are before our Father giving Him the glory He very much deserves.
So what has this year been to me? What are my highlights?
*First off, the biggest highlight of the year was the birth of our precious son, Ethan.
*Watching our baby girl grow out of "babyhood", into toddlerhood, and closer to childhood. She has learned to run, jump, and climb. She has learned to go from speaking in two word sentences to talking in full paragraphs. She has gone from a toddler bed to a big girl twin bed. She has gone from diapers to big girl underwear. Those moments are priceless.
*Darin and I were married 5 wonderful years on January 3rd of last year...in a few days, we will have reached 6!
Those are all my tangible highlights. Below are some of my more personal, spiritual highlights.
*I made a goal last year to read the Bible all the way through by today. I met that goal just 90 minutes ago, just 9 hours and 30 minutes before the end of the 2009 year. That makes me proud. It was a tough goal, and I didn't necessarily do it the way it should have been done...we had a baby in the middle of the year, remember? But I did it. I learned a lot (not nearly as much as I could have because I did it so fast). But most importantly, I felt the presence of God through many of those reading sessions...not so much in the begats, or the plagues, or even the laws in the old testament. But He was there teaching and instructing me...pointing out things that I need to hide in my heart and keep close.
*Perhaps my biggest spiritual growth comes in the form of leadership, and of stepping completely out of my comfort zone to serve in that way. Last January, the Lord pricked my heart. Ok, He more like shoved me off my rear end...but you know... Our church was without a women's minister...and a women's ministry for that matter. His instruction to me was clear that I was to build that ministry...to recruit leaders to help me, and to lead that ministry. Plain ole little me? Yeah, that's what I said too. But as I pondered this new opportunity, I thought about the times in the last few years where He allowed me to be in charge...just of small things. But those small things helped train me to be a leader in big things. That ministry kicked off in June of this last year. It's struggling. But it's still new. I expected people to go from not being involved in anything to be involved in everything. I got excited and went away from where God wanted it to go, I think. And that alone led to the unsuccessful start. So we're taking a new direction. That will kick off again sometime soon! Plans are in place, leaders are being put in place, and I feel like I've allowed the Lord to direct me every step this time. So pray for that, please. I'm still out of my element. Little me...the women's ministry director. Still blows my mind that the Lord thought I could do something like that...but that alone spurs me on. HE thought I could do it. So do it I will.
Those are my highlights. Now, tomorrow we enter not only into a new year, but a new decade. Ten years ago, we had not only the turn of a new year, or even a new decade, but we had the turn of a new century. I can only hope and pray that the things I've accomplished in this last decade will multiply in this coming decade. May God clearly show his guidance and continue to show His faithfulness to us in the coming years.
..But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV)
2010...here we come!
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