This year was, in many ways, pretty fantastic but it is really hard to see that when I compare it to 2013.
2013 was a truly incredible year. In 2013 I finished up my second semester at Trinity. That semester was and will be the best semester I had on campus at TWU. I loved the girls I was living with and academically I was learning things I really cared about and to top the semester off I was still pumped about college life. Then came the summer of 2013. It was filled with hiking, ice cream, late night stargazing and friends from all over the world. On top of that I got to spend an awesome weekend in Colorado with my family to celebrate Charis' wedding. The fall semester of 2013 I was in Uganda. I seriously can't emphasize how incredible Uganda was... it was hard but it was great. I learned and grew and spent hours and hours just talking with some awesome people I'm thankful I can still call my friends. In other words, 2013 was a year spent in the presence of people I don't ever want to forget.
New Years Eve a year ago I boarded a plane headed for Europe (they really do give you champagne if you're on board over midnight on New Years!). And so I started my year in Rome and I didn't leave Europe until the beginning of March. It might seem ridiculous that I have anything to complain about, but honestly those two months were pretty brutal. Yeah, I got to see a bit of Italy, Spain, England, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Turkey. Unfortunately, I was ready to be home and so though I did enjoy parts of the backpacking experience I also found it really lonely. In both Banff and Uganda I was experiencing life with large groups of people. Every place I was during 2013 I could and still can reminisce about with a large number of people. And so Europe represents for me a crack in that sharing of life with others that shattered me. I thought I was ready for the solitude but I wasn't. I realized while I was in Uganda how much you can learn about God through community with others and then suddenly I was in a place where that wasn't really a possibility.
I don't want to complain about Europe. It was an opportunity that not everyone is given and fewer people choose to take... but it was probably a mistake for me. In March I came back to Texas to spend six months with my parents and rebuild my bank account for the fall semester and found myself also rebuilding the part of me that longs for adventure. Thankfully by the end of the summer I was ready to get back out of my comfort zone. It was good. I worked two jobs for most of the summer... by the way after studying abroad and traveling for two months home isn't necessarily the easiest thing to adjust to. Finally, I returned to Trinity for my last semester in Langley. It was good. My roomies were great. The semester was filled with hiking, reunions, seeing my brother quite a bit, and not having to eat sodexo food... though the amount of potatoes I consumed might make some people cringe it seemed great to me!
In writing this I have realized that once again comparison can make things that are great seem like burdens. Many of us compare ourselves to others and that can be overcome. I guess I hadn't realized that comparing our presents to our pasts can be just as detrimental as comparing ourselves to others. I have been caught up in comparing 2014 to 2013 and it has limited my ability to see and appreciate the places I have been and the people I have met this year.
In conclusion, 2014 has been a truly epic year.
Here's to a 2015 that we can allow to be unique.
I was sent into 2014 with this blessing:
May God, who is present in sunrise and nightfall and in the crossing of the sea, guide your feet as you go. May God, who knows your path and the places were you rest, be with you in your waiting, be your good news for sharing, and lead you in the way that is everlasting.
And so....
May God, who is present in sunrise and nightfall and in the crossing of the sea, guide your feet as you go. May God, who knows your path and the places were you rest, be with you in your waiting, be your good news for sharing, and lead you in the way that is everlasting!
