So Long 2009.... Hello 2010!

Another year has come and gone, and this one in particular involved a TON of change for us. Most of this was good change, and I learned a lot through it. I racked my brain for New Years Resolutions on January 1st, but most of the things I came up with were wish-list items - things I had zero control over. Those aren't really resolutions. These were things such as:

• Taking a trip to Canada with Jeremy in August for our anniversary (dependent upon the economy and our tax return)

• Being able to run long distances again SOON without excruciating knee pain (dependent upon how my body handles the new medicine I'm taking for my knees)

• Jeremy landing a great job after he graduates in August (dependent upon the job climate at the time)

• Accompanying Jeremy's family to New York for New Years next year (dependent upon the job...)

I noticed a pattern. I attribute everything on my wish list to being dependent upon this, dependent upon that, when all of those factors are ultimately dependent upon GOD! We worry about the economy, the job climate, and our health care as though men had power over them. But our God has control over all of these things, and the most powerful men in the world are but pawns in His hand.

"The king's heart is  stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

he turns it wherever he will."

Proverbs 21:1

"The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord established his steps."

Proverbs 16:9

So, the list I ended up making this New Year was not a wish list for 2010, but a wisdom list from 2009.

Here are some important things I learned:

     1. GOD IS SOVEREIGN. All the time. In every situation. Even when I thought I knew best. Scratch that - especially when I thought I knew best. I need not worry nor be anxious, because my plans will ultimately fail and His far better plans will succeed. 

     2. GOD PROVIDES. We spent the first couple of months of our marriage struggling to make ends meet. God took care of us. Money showed up when unexpected bills presented themselves, and we had to learn to accept financial help. God humbled us, as we could not take pride in even monetarily providing for ourselves. By His grace we are starting to get our feet under us, but rejoice that financial stability is a gift from the Lord and that such stability is fleeting. We place our trust in Him, not our savings account. And we are EXTREMELY thankful for an unknown friend(s) that still sends grocery money (see When God send blessings through US Post....). We hope you are reading - we love you and are thankful for your unbelievable generosity.

     3. MARRIAGE IN SANCTIFYING. The Lord has allowed us to have such joy in the first 4 1/2 months of marriage. It is a great blessing to have someone to laugh with, cry with, wake up next to, cook meals with, read to, dream with, pray with, pray for, romance, and love. God designed marriage to be sanctifying, and we already see that spouses are the most equipped to hold up mirrors for one another. Because Jeremy is intimately connected with me, the mirror of my soul he holds up to me shows more junk than I sometimes care to see, but the Lord has used that to lovingly refine us. We have become partners in pursuing holiness.

     4. THE WEDDING IS GREAT, BUT MARRIAGE IS FAR BETTER. My lovely engaged lady-friends - it is SOO easy to get caught up in planning the perfect wedding day, to get stressed out about these plans, and to consume yourself with thoughts of these plans 24-7. Really easy. But it's one day, and the MORE joyous journey begins after the wedding day. 

     5. GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN FINISHED WITH COLLEGE. Alas, I am again in college earning my Masters degree until May 2011. 

     6. GOOD FRIENDS ARE GEMS. The Lord has blessed us with some awesome friends, and we treasure them. 2009 would not have been one-tenth as amazing as it was without our friends.

     7. GARDENING IS NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS. We yielded some crops last fall, but we will try again this spring with more knowledge and more patience!

     8. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY LOVE READING WHEN IT'S NOT FOR SCHOOL. I learn this every break and speed-read through a couple of books per week until the beginning of school. Then, by the end of the semester, I'm convinced I hate reading. So I re-learned my love Christmas break 2009.

     9. I HAVE A TRAVEL BUG AND NOT ENOUGH FUNDS TO FEED IT. I re-learn this every year also. Inevitably something will spark this and bring it speeding to the fore-front of my mind. I LOVE traveling and have a mile-long list in my head of places I'd love to visit. But traveling is expensive for the most part. So in 2010 I will pray to be content in my current status of travel (even if that's to Lewisville and back), and pray that one day the Lord will bless us with funds to be able to see the world He's created. 

    10. WE HAVE THE MOST LOVING AND SUPPORTIVE FAMILY EVER. We dearly love all 17 members of our now-exceedingly-large immediate family.

All of this reflecting leads me to one ultimate New Years Resolution, and I have a feeling it will be the same resolution I will have every year for the rest of my life. 


I resolve to know God more in 2010 than I did in 2009.

Happy New Year!

K