So long 2009

2009. It really has been a great year. A big year. A lot happened in my life this year.
I graduated college.
I traveled to 8 different countries.
I moved to away from Birmingham and from everything I know to Atlanta where I know no one.

I know that is only 3 things but they are, in my opinion, very major things.

College. I never thought I'd say this but I miss it. I miss the flexible schedule, the variety it provided, the interaction with peers. And yes sometimes I even miss studying. I do not miss the papers, the pointless assignments and the arrogant teachers :) I took 24 credit hours my last semester. I also juggled the responsibility of selling a house and working 20 hours a week. Needless to say once May arrived I was in much need of a break :) That leads to the summer...

I had the most awesome summer traveling all over the world and tell people the awesome story that is the gospel. I started out in Costa Rica. Then headed to the Dominican Republic with my family and a few others and finished up in Europe with a group of young adults from my home church in Birmingham. All in all it was the best 3 months I can remember. I love traveling more than anything and I was so blessed to have that opportunity.

Once back from all of my world travels I had to make a major decision. I had felt a call from the Lord for me to move to Atlanta. for a while, but the timing was never right. Now I was through with school and jobless... I established pretty quickly that this was a pretty good time.
To be completely honest when I finally made the decision to move I had no idea if it is what God really wanted. I knew I wanted to do it and I hadn't heard a no from God so I decided to jump. I moved in with a friend that I had met volunteering at Passion City Church back in the spring. I began the job search and quickly hit a wall. I couldn't find a job. So I spent two painful months doing absolutely nothing but sitting at Starbucks sitting at every single day. If you know me, you know how miserable I was. I began thinking about moving back to Birmingham. My friend Abby convinced me to come work at Gap in Birmingham so I decided to spend the holidays at home and really try to discern what the Lord wanted me to do.

I asked God to show me what He wanted me to do by either providing or withholding a job for me in Atlanta. On the 13th I decided to look on craigslist one last time and came across a job for a home manager. I emailed the family and even though they had received responses from several people they really liked me and are even involved in the same circle I am here in Atlanta. The way the small details of that worked out completely confirmed in my heart that God wanted me to stay in Atlanta.

So with all that said 2010 will no doubt be an incredible year.

One thing that I have learned from all of this is that it is so hard to not base your joy in your circumstances. As children of God we have the awesome ability to maintain joy no matter what our circumstances. It has been easy for me to be extremely joyful as I am riding a bus through the countryside of Montenegro and really not joyful when I am sitting alone in a Starbucks in a suburb of Atlanta. I am not even remotely close to being a master of it by any means, but I am so thankful that God is very patient with me as He teaches me to rejoice in Him always.

I learned a lot about myself this year. I am not a very open minded person. I have often accepted things I have been taught all my life with out questioning the veracity of them. I am often more judgmental than I should or want to be. I am selfish. I am more outgoing than I thought I was. I am more afraid of change than I thought I was.

I hope most of those change in 2010... and Lord willing they will. I exist for Him. And I'm clinging to the promise that He isn't through with me yet!