Right before my birthday, I often find myself reflecting. Reflecting on the good, the bad, the hard times, the mundane, all of it. And so I sit here, the night before I turn 24, and I reflect yet again. Year 23 was a lot. I have spent most of my months out of the country, actually pretty much all of them. That in itself is a lot. I have found myself in new communities. Working through a lot of pain. Laughing a whole lot. Through it all, the Lord has been so so good.
A sweet friend of mine introduced me to creating a list of thanksgiving. In this list, you do it right before your next birthday. You reflect on what you are grateful for and you list as many things as the age you are turning. For me, I would list 24 things that I am grateful for. I decided to partake in this idea this year and I wanted to share this list with you:
1. visiting twelve countries in twelve months!
2. all of the new friends I’ve made through the race
3. my family that is O squad
4. my actual biological family
5. the funds to come home to celebrate my uncle and new aunt’s wedding !!
6. seeing so many CRAZY sunsets all over the world
7. the Lord providing safety as I’ve traveled
8. iced decaf coffee (this is actually huge)
9. a sweet month home
10. getting to see my friends while I was in Indiana
11. FaceTime calls to my mom and dad
12. growth in confidence in sharing the Gospel
13. healing of my heart from past wounds from people of my past
14. pianos/keyboards at so many different ministry sites
15. all of my street dog friends
16. the roof in Albania where I could sit in the sun (and sometimes cry)
17. laying my head in Clara’s lap and her playing with my hair like I’m a little puppy
18. all the wildflowers that I’ve picked
19. all the wildflowers that have been picked for me
20. every barista I’ve met (especially the grumpy ones, iykyk)
21. worship nights that bring me to tears because of the love and presence of the Father
22. the opportunity to lead sweet R squad
23. progressive rummy (again iykyk)
24. my yellow flannel (shoutout to Allie)
As I was thinking about this list and writing things down, I was listening to the song How Good the Lord Is by Kingdom Culture Worship. And as I started listening to the lyrics, I just began to weep. This list reflects how good the Lord has been to me. Each thing on this list I have a testimony, a story, I am going to share with my kids one day. That these are things, no matter how big or small, that are so important to me and reflect God’s goodness in my life.
A huge thank you to Jesus for being so incredibly good and sweet to me in year 23. I’m ready for what You have in store for me in year 24.
Happy birthday