Every Thing I have Gone Through.

Can I just say that God is overwhelming me with His awesomeness lately? I have gotten a chance to get to know two youth so much better and through learning their pain and suffering I now see a lot more purpose for why I struggled with certain things in particular. I gained experience, insight, and empathy through the struggles I went through as a teenager. It is an honor to get to know these kids and I am humbled to be given the chance to invest in them. God. Is. So. Good.

Thankful For Pain.

I am beyond in awe of God right now. This past year has been full of unbelievable suffering with Jordan and I began to see how God used things to empty me of a lot of myself so that I could be full of Him. That alone was worth the pain. but recently I have been talking to a girl in a youth group I help with and she is in such a similar situation as I was. I would have been so inadequate to help her had I not gone through that pain and I am even more grateful for it than before. God uses everything for good and everything he gives is good!

Thankful for Learning to Serve.

Every night at work I have this amazing privilege to serve others. I searched specifically for a job as a waitress for this very reason. Of course, there are many customers that stretch you in this exercise, but they are the ones I am most thankful for. It is easy to serve the ones who are simple, polite and who you know you will tip well, but I have decided in my heart that I will serve every customer exactly the same regardless of how nice they are or how much money I make. They are all deserving of 100% of me. I have also decided that I will walk out of work completely satisfied regardless of the amount that I made, whether it be $10 or $100. God always richly provides exactly how much I need and nothing He gives is too little or too much. I am very blessed to have a job where I have been able to share Jesus in many ways with so many people and to have such an incredible opportunity to learn to better serve others. What a great God we serve!

This I Have Had.

I would say I am thankful for another year, but who knows if I have another whole year so instead I am thankful for this time that I have already had. This year was the absolute worst, most difficult and most painful year I have ever had BUT it has also been the most spiritually beneficial, amazing, blessed, and life altering year I have ever had. My God is so good. I have stood on some incredible spiritual mountaintops and I have sunken to some low spiritual depths, but throughout it all God had His hand on me and I can say with full confidence that God is still good and I passionately adore Him. I wasn't going to make a resolution this year, but I have decided that whatever I want to call it, this year is going to be lived every day as if it was the only day I have left. Done with the temporary, this year is going to be lived in the realization of Eternity.