Tag Archives: February 22

28

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Well, the past year has somehow flown by, and I’m back again for my yearly birthday post! I can hardly believe that the number 28 is now associated with my name… I mean, I could hardly believe it last year with 27, but here we are. It has been such a joy to walk through life in the past year. It seems crazy to say that being that the past year has been exceedingly difficult at times, but overall, as I look back at all that God’s brought me through and all He’s taught and revealed to me over the last 365 days, I can’t help but be grateful. His grace surrounds me and His love overwhelms me. It’s such a blessing to see another year on this earth and I just feel so warm – to my friends and family who have truly made me rich in the relationships we share, thank you for all your well wishes and for the love you constantly shower me with.

I’m walking into 28 with both comfort and confidence: comfort in who God’s calling me to be and confidence in the Lord to see me through each step He places in front of me. A few weeks back, I was listening to a song on the new Maverick City X UpperRoom Move Your Heart album. There’s a line in I Want To See You that stood out to me and that sits on my mind from day to day: There is no one like You in the heavens or on the earth. The sound of one musician’s voice repeats this truth over and over until the whole song is filled with a chorus of voices singing the same words. It’s electric. That singular thought in the song filled me with joy in its simplicity, yet it was unfathomable in its complexity as I pondered just a few of the ways that the God of the universe – our God – is greater than the human mind could ever conceive (Isaiah 55:8-13). There is truly not one single being on this earth or in the realms we can’t see that is like our God. I don’t even know how to begin describing what that means to me, but I do know that that knowledge brings me such comfort and confidence – not in myself, but in the Lord.

It’s something I want to carry with me throughout each day: There is absolutely no one like the Lord. God changes hearts, gives me motivation for each day, and equips me for life like no one and no thing ever could. He brings beauty and good out of situations that were meant to be chaotic, and bestows His peace on my heart in a way that crushes my fears. The Lord is such a faithful and kind listener, allowing me to be honest with Him, and giving me more grace than I could ever deserve. He protects, guides, corrects, and loves me more than I could understand. Simply being in God’s presence satisfies my soul and I love Him. There’s truly no one like Him in the heavens or on this earth. I’m so blessed to be His daughter! And so with that, I’m waving hello to 28, open to whatever adventures God brings my way, and I can’t wait to walk this year’s walk with Him.

27

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I’m exceedingly psyched because I’m turning 27 today on 02•22•20… and if you know me, then you know that the number symmetry, along with turning one of my favorite numbers, makes me feel absolutely delighted.

But really, it’s always a blessing to me to see another year. The song going through my thoughts these past few days was You Keep On Getting Better sung by Maverick City Music, especially the refrain that says, “Every day gets sweeter, every day gets better.” It speaks to the fact that every day lived in relationship with our awesome God gets better for us as His children – He never changes in His perfection, but for us He gets better as we discover more and more of Him with each passing experience, good or bad. I’ve found this to especially be true these past few years, and it’s a concept I’ve been pondering these past few days as I walk into 27 with that same mindset. There’s another part of the song that says over and over – after declaring how good God is – “You keep on getting better, You keep on getting better.” I couldn’t listen to that part without joyfully singing along and expressing thanks to the Lord for who He is and all He’s done. I asked myself in what specific ways the Lord’s kept getting better to me, and what I loved was that many of the ways seemed like such simple things, but their impact on my life was anything but. He gets better and better to me every time I get the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the clouds above me, or the serenity of a Poznan sunset at the end of the day. I mean, at times (at least in my view), the sky looks so intricately painted with a range of pastels, and I just can’t help looking up in awe at God’s creativity. And then it’ll be a whole different range of colours the next day, harboring a completely different vibe and bringing a new sense of wonder to my heart – something new, yet at its core, still the same. God gets better and better to me with each day, as I literally experience His strength in me on days when Tuesdays feel like Thursdays and I can barely keep my eyes open long enough to study. I notice how He listens to me and encourages me exactly as I need, and how He draws me closer to Him, motivating me to be a better child of God, refining me day by day and removing all that isn’t like Him. All these things and more make me emphatically say: Yes, Lord – You keep getting better! And I love that as I discover more of Him with each passing year, I’m consistently reminded of how He is good. There’s a part of You Keep On Getting Better that says, “You are good; In the morning I’ll sing ‘You are good.’ In the evening I’ll sing ‘You are good,’ You are good to me.” It’s a sentiment often said about God without much thought – Oh, God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. But the reality of taking a moment and realizing that He truly is… means so much. The way He works and helps me when maybe I’ve slacked a bit on my to-do list – He’s good. The way He warms my heart through interactions with my family and friends during long rotation days – He is good. The many, many ways He shows me His character through specific verses in His word and strengthens my faith daily in such thoughtful and personal ways – He is so, so good.

Turning 27 today is a gift. There’s so much peace, joy, and excitement surrounding me, not only due to anticipation of the year ahead, but because I know that no matter what, He keeps on getting better.

25

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Today, I turn 25.

A whole quarter-century…! This blows my mind.

One whole quarter deposited in the piggy bank of life already.

If I thought that time flew before, these past few years, it’s basically felt like it’s going at lightening speed with each birthday that comes around. It’s truly a blessing to see this new year; so many young adults don’t make it to this age, so I’m extremely grateful for yet another day to enjoy life’s simple joys, and to celebrate another milestone birthday.

Birthdays are always a time for me to reflect back on the past year, consider what values I’ve learned or honed, and make goals for how I want to grow at my new age over the next year.

For some reason, 25 feels like a new horizon: all the 24-and-below years neatly packaged away and left behind to enter solidly into the mid- and upper-20’s. So a few months ago, I thought to myself on what I’d want going into 25. All I knew right away was that I wanted to keep knowing God deeper, and growing in my faith and relationship with Him. It’s what brings me the most joy and satisfaction, what informs my life, and what motivates me to pursue growth as a person. After that, I thought a bit more on what values I particularly leaned on over the past year, lessons that stood out to me as good life advice for myself to continue pursuing in this new year and beyond. Here are some of those thoughts.

Love people hard.
Loving people always comes with consequences that accompany that vulnerability. However, it’s completely worth it. Especially if those loved ones are your family, or friends. It’s such a privilege to have close, supportive, and loving family + friends, and I couldn’t be more grateful for mine. They always push me to be better, and inspire me in my faith. For me, loving them often comes in the form of appreciating them as much as I possibly can amidst the craziness of life from so far away. It’s not extravagant usually, but I’ve found that often, the simplest encouraging words over the phone end up meaning the most. Continue reading →

21

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I’m completely overwhelmed.

I think this day has to be the most love-filled day I’ve ever experienced to date.

Today, February 22nd, is my 21st birthday and the joy and bountiful blessings have just been pouring in on me all day long! I always get introspective around special occasions, but this has been an especially poignant birthday for me as I’ve had time over the past few weeks to really ponder over just why I love birthdays so much. I wondered over my penchant for birthdays because I’ve known so many people who lament them, either because they’re getting older or because they don’t know of good presents to ask for or because they don’t get to spend it with certain people. But I love them (and let’s be serious – I adore mine) because it really is a celebration – God’s brought it to my awareness more in these past few weeks, but each day really is a gift. No day is promised to any person, so to have the opportunity to celebrate another year of life? That is truly a wonderful, heavenly gift that deserves to be celebrated. And even though it always shocks me how quickly time passes by, one of my co-workers put it into perspective the other day, saying that “when time passes so quickly, it’s because life is good.” So there’s no need to lament growing up another year… I see it as a time to be immensely grateful for all God has done in my life over the past year and as a time to look forward to new growth and maturity, both personally and spiritually.
Continue reading →