How Do You Measure A Year?

 

Here is my token year-end post. 

 Except I am not gonna wrap up 2013 here. 

OK, maybe I am. 

I am anxious about the New Year. 

Not because I am nervous about keeping my New Years Resolutions

(I don't think I have any-- except to run a 5k) . 

Not because maybe 2014 will be the year I meet the love of my life. 

But because 2013 was just. so. good. 

I know, I know, you people probably hate reading about how great everyone else's life is

(insert eye roll here).

But y'all, 2013 goes down in the books for me. 

Was it easy?  Absolutely not. 

Did I come across some large sums of money?  Not hardly. 

Did all of my dreams come true?  Negative. 

For me, 2013 was notable because it was refining, real, and revealing. 

(I feel like I am about to start a 3-point sermon...)

Refining:  The old Katy has to go.  I am new in Christ. 

So 2013 (and every year hereafter) called for a-whole-lotta surrender. 

It's no longer about me. 

Oh, has this been stretching!  But, ultimately, so good. 

 I am learning to organize my life around scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit and not just fit in God where I want to. 

I am in for the complete overhaul.

And I have learned to stand for truth.  Even if it means standing alone.
 Because in the end, it is the ONLY thing that stands. 
This is what I want to build my entire life on.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

2 Corinthians 5:17

Real:  Working a real job and maintaining my "home" (albeit a tiny apartment) is the norm.  Relationships are messy, and so is sin. 

And the way I walk through this life matters in light of eternity.
"Life" is not just a game that can be avoided and that I can turn a blind eye to.   

God is real. 

He is true and faithful to every single word that he speaks to us through his word. 

Even the hard words like "God will not be mocked" and "You reap what you sow". 

"This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him." Psalm 18:30

Revealing: I scratched the surface on learning who I am.

Sure, a 32 year old should know who she is, what she likes, what makes her tick, etc, etc, etc. 

But I really haven't up until this point. 

I am way more introverted than I ever thought,

(don't get me wrong, I am still extroverted, but I have seen my need & desire for alone time-- maybe because I am FINALLY just a tiny bit comfortable in my own skin)

I love early bed times and watching the sun rise with a cup of coffee. 

Consistency, set schedules, and a clean apartment set me in motion.  

I function at my peak when I am eating healthy and exercising regularly. 

I love a simple life. 

I love to give.

I really do have a tender side. 
I learned to love the church. 
I learned a lot about who I am and how God made me and how he is working his plan out in my life.  I actually embrace the story God has given me, and I don't want to hide my face in shame. 
Because it is a story about his relentless love for his beloved daughter. 
Because really, it has little to do with me. 
And EVERYTHING to do with him. 

 

And there is so much more to learn as I grow in my security in Christ.

He knows me all too well, and loves me just the same. 

              "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."

Psalm 139:14-16

 

What excites me about all of this, is that I have TASTED. 

Oh, I have tasted and I see that The Lord is so very good. 
(Psalm 34:8)

And his character is to only get sweeter. 

Because everyday that I live, it is a day closer to seeing his face. 

 

So, here's to 2014-- you've got a lot to live up to. 

 

I just hope I stay awake to see the New Year roll around!