Skip to main content

What a difference a year makes

On December 2, 2012, I was at home at my parent's house. I know that it was a Sunday, but I don't remember exactly what I did.
2013

What I do know is that I was still thinking about how I had finally reconnected with Ben Striker at a burn at the Rock River House of Prayer the day before. I know that I was trying not to think about him romantically and that I was feeling proud of myself for reconnecting with him like a normal person after two years of separation and the strong attraction that I had immediately felt for him.
Christmas 2012


What I didn't know is that he would have a mutual friend text me just two days later to ask if she could give him my phone number. I did not know that we would have our first date just five days later, be dating after only two weeks or be engaged by Valentine's Day. I definitely could not have imagined that we would be married by the end of September.

I have been thinking a lot about how quickly things can change and how years of unanswered prayers can suddenly be answered. I think about all that has changed in my life while other things are remarkably still the same. I have been thinking, "This time last year..." and wondering what will be this time next year. Between remembering the past and anticipating the future, I find that I am missing out on the present.
Christmas 2011

December is a full month for me and I know that it is this way for many people. I know that I am out of the practice of savoring each day, again. My days feel more like burdens and to-do lists than gifts. I have less joy and peace and more anxiety.

So, I am back to searching for God in my everyday life. I am practicing His presence and looking for where He is at work in me and around me. I am counting every gift that I find and asking Him to satisfy me once more with Himself. I am asking God to expand my gaze so that it includes more of Him and not just me.

December 2010
Still Counting Gifts:

  • #914: Starting my second year of life with Ben
  • #915: Time to write, think and read
  • #916: How A Million Little Ways is inspiring me
  • #917: Starting piano lessons
  • #918: Extending myself grace when I don't practice for two full weeks after my first lesson
  • #919: How our basement space is feeling more and more like home
  • #920: Staring at my Christmas tree
  • #921: I survived another Turkey Trot despite running only twice since my wedding
  • #922: Ordering my wedding photo book
  • #923: My name change is closer to complete
  • #924: New perspective on who I am and what God has given me passion to pursue
  • #925: God's love is stronger than even the most devastating feelings
  • #926: Seeing hope find fertile soil in a person's heart
  • #927: Trusting God with my business and how many people I see
  • #928: Learning how God wants me to spend myself

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 weeks ago today

I got married three weeks ago today. I’ve been thinking a lot about our wedding since that day. This was my first week back to work, which meant that I got to talk a lot about that day and show pictures, because everything is still fresh and new and people are anxious to know how it went. I have missed writing. Several times during our honeymoon, I almost grabbed my laptop because I had the urge to write. I never did, but I wanted to. I think that it felt too intimate to record in some ways. And, in others, I was just enjoying being lazy and carefree. I plan to write about what I remember from my wedding. (Maybe even some things from our honeymoon. We shall see…) I don’t know what I will share, but I want to make a record of my memories and experiences from that day. Just three weeks later, but the feelings are less vivid and the mental pictures are less crisp. Fortunately, our photographer did an amazing job and I am thankful that I have those images to remind me....
2 comments
Read more

Back to School

Well, after four years away from school counseling, I have decided to return. Yes, I'm keeping my private practice in counseling. I will be reducing the number of clients that I see on a weekly basis in order to work 20 hours a week as a school counselor at Rockford Christian Elementary School. This comes in the midst of conversations that I have been having with God about desire. In fact, pursuing this position kind of started those conversations. My good friend Mackenzie, who works in the business office at RCS, told me about the position innocently enough. She wanted me to have the information about the position in case I had any counselor friends who might be interested in applying. What neither she nor I could have known, was how desire would stir in my heart as soon as she started to describe it to me. There are things that I have come to absolutely love in private practice counseling. I love being my own boss, setting my own hours and having complete freedom over...
1 comment
Read more

Wow, it’s March already

I haven’t written anything during the whole month of February. I thought about writing several different things, but never got around to it. I had ideas and I made plans. Unfortunately, they were never realized. It has been a busy month. I got engaged two weeks ago. Ben did an amazing job of surprising me by proposing at 9 PM on a Thursday night, when I thought we were going outside to start my car so I could go home. We stood on the exact spot where we first met in October of 2010, outside what was the barn at Anderson Organic farm, and remembered that first day. He offered me a chocolate, I discovered a ring hidden in the box, he got down on one knee and there were fireworks. (Yes, actual fireworks!) So, we’re getting married in September and I’m excited, but also overwhelmed by all the change and planning. In addition to such a significant change in my personal life, I’m preparing to make some major changes in my professional life. I will continue counseling because I lo...
1 comment
Read more