and it's another year...

I was sitting today in the company of good friends, a little damp from a comic sledding adventure, and holding a warm cup of coffee in my hands, when I smiled a little smile of perfect contentment. I've been doing that a lot lately. As I reflected on this past year, I realized how very much my life has changed. My external circumstances have changed. I left behind some wonderful people who had become very dear to me, and I left the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I have completely new surroundings now, and I've found that God is not absent, even in the bitterly cold and mountainless Midwest. My hair is longer. I've read more books. I own a new pair of pants.

As I took a sip of my coffee, I realized that I have changed personally as well. God is so good. He has grown me and nurtured me and played in my life in many different ways. As I look back, even on the day that I left a beloved campus in May, tearfully driving away after last goodbyes; even on the day I was so discouraged that I just stayed in bed all day and listened to sad songs; even during the excruciating practices when I felt like I should be dying in every way... I honestly can say that I wouldn't change anything. God has worked every single circumstance of this past year into a blessing.

Now I’m ready to leave behind this past year without any regrets, and to throw myself wholeheartedly into this next year. Whatever happens, I hope to continue becoming less childish and more childlike as time passes. I commit to living each day fully and, by God's grace, growing closer to my telos. I am terribly excited for 2010!