Thank you, 2017

2017.

Wow. How weird it will be to be entering 2018 so soon, when I can vividly remember ringing in the new year with my best friends last year. What I didn’t know, was that 2017 would be the best, and most fruitful year of my life. Now, I look back and see my precious “end of the year” posts from years past and they all say “This was the best year yet!” and as much as I’m sure those years were wonderful, I truly believe God walked me into 2017 to show me how great He could make it, not how great I could make it, but how great He could make it! 

This year brought trusting in the Lord, heartache, truthfulness, great great great community, humility, passion and so many more things. 

As I entered the year, I had no idea what God wanted me to do and where God was leading me. After a rough end to 2017, spiritually and emotionally, I was longing for something to just click. And click it did. 

After I stopped listening to myself and started listening to Him, I finally was able to see where God was placing my heart. Now, by all means, my 2016 was not a walk in the park, but through the struggles was where I found God the most. 

After finishing arguably, the hardest semester of my undergraduate program, I was so relieved to head into my summer knowing that I was going to be spending it in the Smoky Mountains. I patiently waited to go and was beyond nervous of what to expect, and what I wasn’t expecting was the multitude of friendships that were later built.  I was able to form relationships with people from all over the world, some more local than others. How lucky am I that I was able to meet such great, strong Christian friends and be able to miss them the way I do.  I look back on this year and am beyond blessed that God chose ME, to go and fulfill his Great Commission in Tennessee. That’s without a doubt, why 2017 was the best year of my life. 

My heart grew to love internationals. I learned to be open and see everyone how Jesus saw his people, broke and in need. We all struggle and not one thing on this earth will ever give us the satisfaction he can provide. But what I didn’t necessarily expect, was for things to be made clear to me, personally, both in Tennessee and once I returned home. My eyes were opened to things that I had closed off in my heart for so long.  I was able to be vulnerable with people about the grossness and bitterness that has built up in my own heart. And as weird as that was in the moment, learning how to walk through tough situations is critical to know how to do. It led me to be able to help some of my closest friends, this yea, in times of need. I love being able to take what I learned and practice it with those around me. 

So many other great things came from 2017: learning to love myself, knowing my worth in God, learning how to communicate well when there is conflict, I learned how to be honest and raw with God’s grace, and how to walk with the Lord on a day to day basis. 

I came back to campus after the summer and jumped right back into the swing of things. I had been praying all year for God to make Cru on Bloomsburg’s campus fruitful and to raise up men and women to have a relationship with Jesus. I am still so blown away by the amount of new faces that come week after week, and let me just say that there is nothing that makes me more excited than to see these people, these college students, want to reach people for Jesus. 

This year, I am ending it differently than in years past. Instead of being at home with my hometown friends, who I dearly miss, I am surrounded by so many believers at Cru’s Winter Conference in Baltimore. Tonight, I will get to start 2018 off by worshipping the one, true God - and how lucky am I to be able to do that. What a way to end 2017. Praising the One who taught me so many wonderful things and made this year the best one yet!

See you soon, 2018!