Hello, 2009

Believe it or not, its time for my yearly reflection. I have no clue how to start this thing. So much in and around me has changed, so many things that I have not written about. Too many to cover. I could write a book about each event of the last year. Instead, I will settle with a list of the highlights:

- Spring 2008: I spent wonderful quality time with my Nana and Papa while my Papa's health was declining. We played games, we talked, I smuggled cafe vanilla frappucinos into the hospital (Papa declared that they must serve the drink in heaven!), we prayed together.

- May 3rd, 2008: I saw my Papa alive for the last time. When I walked into the hospital room, he exclaimed, "Oh! An angel has come to visit me!" Before my parents and I left, he held my hand and repeated the words "Thank you" over and over again. I will always hold that day in my heart.

- May 4th, 2008: I got the dreaded phone call, and I wept. I learned that my Papa was no longer in pain - physically, mentally, and spiritually.

- May 5th, 2008: I traded my future and plans for God's by giving my two weeks notice to my boss. It was the day that I officially decided to give up engineering, the day I acknowledged that there is something better out there for my life. What a glorious day that was.

- May 24th, 2008: After a 10-minute interview, I was hired as a barista at Zephyr in Pasadena. I always wanted to work at a coffee shop. This was my chance.

- June 7th, 2008: I graduated from the 21-month Servant Partner's Internship. That stage of my life was done, and it was time to walk into the unknown.

- Summer 2008: I had a blast working at the coffee shop, living a structureless life, sailing with my parents, reading the books that I wanted to read (no more assigned reading for me!), sleeping in, and falling in love with Jesus all over again.

- July 2008: God blessed me financially through a settlement from a car accident 8 months prior, and from a sweet 2-week house sitting job.

- July 31st - August 10th, 2008: I traveled to Boston, Chicago, and Seattle, to visit friends, meet new ones, and witness a beautiful wedding.

- August, 2008: I received a job offer for a well-paid, part-time, no-stress job. In February of '08, I wrote in my journal that I felt God telling me I would not have to search for my next job. It would fall in my lap. This job offer was a confirmation of that sense. In March of '08, I asked for a stress-free job where I felt free to be myself. This job was an answer to that prayer.

- October 16, 2008: I released the bitterness and anger I felt over the past year and a half (Dec '06 through April '08). Reading my Goodbye, 2007 post might fill you in some. During my time of prayer and reflection in a rose garden, I was pleading with God that he would help me to see clearly and understand why I went through so much pain and frustration. "What was it all for? What did I learn from all of that???" And then He gently told me that everything was okay. He was orchestrating my life in a beautiful way, and I didn't have to understand it. It was simply a thorny part of my life - painful, but necessary for the survival and beauty of the rose.

- Fall, 2008: I noticed a change in myself. Still young, but growing up.

- December 27th - December 30th, 2008: I went on the best road trip of my life. I went with friends Corissa, Kevin, and Scott on a thousand-mile trip to Portland, Oregon, where we witnessed the beautiful marriage of our friends Daniel and Casey. Our lovely friend Courtney joined us for the trip back to LA.

I believe this road trip embodies the journey of my life in this past year. It was unexpectedly full of blessings, joy, love, and crazy amounts of fun, just like this unexpected year. In the same way that we left, not quite knowing what we would find, and encountering blessing after blessing, I left my job and decided to embark on a new and unknown journey, finding blessings of freedom and joy around every corner. Of course, there were tough times too, like when it took almost a full hour for us to replace the windshield wipers in the dark, rain, and cold, or when I spent hours asking God to help me clearly see the purpose of my past. And things were taken from us, like when we realized that someone stole a camera, leatherman, and cds from our car when we were at a pit stop, or when I lost my beloved grandfather.

But all these things were for our good.

And so here I am. Still humble, but now grateful and soaring, curious to see what God will bring in 2009. Curious to see every day.