Wow what a whirlwind of a year! So much has happened in this past year. I feel like I came into the year full of hope and expectation. My goals were set and I felt like this would be my year. But life happens. I didn’t achieve any of the goals I wanted to, the way I wanted to achieve them. I was really run through the wringer in terms of my physical and emotional health for the past two years. I was sick for the majority of the year and just as I started to feel back to normal I sprained my rotator cuff and couldn’t do the exercises I wanted to. Which led to me being lazy and being right back where I was weight wise, pre-covid. Which is a big bummer.

On top of my physical health struggling I really had some mental trials this year which you probably can guess based on my posts. I struggle so much with giving up control to God that it eventually starts wearing me down and sending me toward a depressive path. Which anyone knows cannot be good. Even through it all I still clung to the hope that God knows what’s best for me and all I need to do is wait patiently and listen to His directions.

But exciting things did happen! I had the excitement of a new relationship, even though it did not last. My roommate and I signed the lease for our house the other day. So I’m now moving into my own house. And I got a new car. Not to mention some incredible traveling and vacations! 

Every year I start it with a focus and last year my focus was Gratitude. I have had this struggle the past few years in being grateful for the blessings God has given me. I seem to always focus on what I don’t have rather than what I do have. So with that as my focus last year, God made sure I found ways to be grateful. I would start every morning with prayer and reading the Bible. The amount of times God used that to speak to me was beyond my imagination. He also put me to the test and gave me a new focus about half way through the year. He gave me the lesson of obedience. 

Learning how to obey God’s desires and laying down my own while also being grateful for what He wants for me, gave me so much peace and strength in my relationship with Him. Every time I would start to feel unsatisfied with the direction I was heading, He would find a way to fulfill me. This helped me find the gratitude I needed to truly seek His will instead of my own. The featured pictured for this post is the phrase that kept running through my head this entire year, along with “If not, He is still good”. These two phrases really spoke to me and got me through the experiences and emotions of the past year.

This next year has the potential for a lot. I am starting the year off overwhelmed and busy. I haven’t even had time to sit down and write up my goals yet. Despite that I have already felt a calling toward a focus this year and that is to “Experience God”. Maybe it’s because that’s the title of the devotional my church is doing, but I feel drawn to that phrase right now. There is so much potential in that small phrase for such big things, and even small things. My hope is that this gives me the freedom to seek God with the intention of finding him and personally experiencing Him.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭

I’m getting excited just writing this! I am looking forward to Experiencing God more than I ever have before. I’m not expecting my wildest dreams to come true but I am anticipating many moments of radical closeness with God. Many moments of Spirit filled worship. Many moments of God showing up when I need him. I can’t wait for this next year!

I always post the scriptures that impacted me the most in my year, but with the start of my scripture for impact series, it would only be repetitive. So instead I’ll leave you with just a couple that got me through the year.

“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭107‬:‭9‬ ‭

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭24‬ ‭

‘You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. Lord , you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you. ‘ Isaiah 26:3-4,7,12

‘O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely. ‘ Psalms 63:1-8

“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭143‬:‭8‬, ‭10‬ ‭

How was your year? Let me know in the comments what some of the lessons you learned this past year were!