2015: My Year in Review
This is a good idea. I think...
JANUARY.
When my parents dropped me off at the Atlanta airport to go back to Austin after my first visit home, I ran straight to the bathroom and cried my eyes out in a stall. It felt like a big deal since I hardly cried when I left home - and proceeded to get really sick because the holidays had been so nonstop. But New Years was a blast because Morgan came into town and we rang in 2015 with a bunch of strangers at a disco roller rink. We were probably the only sober people there. But it was so memorable.
I had just finished my first semester of grad school, and headed into my second. It was starting to feel like I was finally getting in the swing of things.
FEBRUARY.
I guess a lot more happened in this month than I really knew would. I went out on a coffee date, expecting to want to leave after 30 minutes but stayed for almost 3 hours. Looking back on that time, I see that God was working to shape me from the person I had been when I lived in California to the new person he is continually making me. I couldn't possibly have predicted the effects of February's happenings.
I also held a human brain for the first time. This one was decades old. It's heavier than you'd imagine... We did this as part of an outing for our Conversation Club at UT, which is group therapy for adults. While I've always wanted to work with kids, I found planning these sessions a great deal of fun. I don't remember this semester being as taxing as the first, which I'm really grateful for.
MARCH.
In March, both my mom and Lucy came to visit during Spring Break. Not sure why I only managed to get pictures with Lucy (actually I do; she brought a selfie stick with her). It was great fun to have Lucy around, but when my mom arrived just days later, it seemed that everything went wrong. I had car troubles, we got in little arguments, I just felt tired.. But I look back on that time and see that God greatly provided for me through my parents (I was never in a pinch because of my car breaking down!) and even drew closer to mom as we talked about life and me living in Austin. It was my first time receiving real dating advice from my mother -- that's always noteworthy.
There's a great deal of art everywhere in Austin, all kinds of messages and graffiti and things to make you think or just say WOW! "I will not accept mediocrity" became one of my favorites, because I adhere to the idea that we are to always push ourselves, always step it up, always keep growing. But now, as I look at the sign, I wonder if I were seeing it afresh if it would be a favorite of mine after all. I would hate for someone to see me bearing these words and think, "But I am mediocre, will she not accept me?" Food for thought...
APRIL.
I remember April being salient for a number of reasons. I was growing closer to the members of my community group, trying to lead discussions and meet with younger women. God was continually bringing new young women to church on Sundays, whom I was getting to meet. I remember thinking how exciting it was to get to draw people in, but how much I felt I was NOT READY for the responsibility I was being given. Good thing our God is compassionate, knowing me inside and out!
In April our friends Daniel and Jennifer got married, and we got our first picture together. I was basically terrified but I asked him if he'd want to come to California to meet my family in the summer... and was so excited when he said "of course". I think this month we began to work out how dating would play out, since this was no longer a "new" thing. It was rough for a bit, but better as we learned to communicate ourselves and keep expectations in check.
MAY.
This month seemed to fly by. Mostly it rained cats and dogs. When it didn't, it was beautiful. Free outdoor concerts and peacock-watching at various parks in Austin took up the weekends. I met my boyfriend's mom and her fiance (that was terrifying, too). The semester ended. My mind was becoming more reflective and I think that's a GOOD thing.
Months like this are the reason it's my 2016 New Year's Resolution to take more pictures.
JUNE.
June was hard and June was good. I remember June being the first month where my boyfriend rebuked me for something. He did it in a godly manner, but wow, it was like being hit with a ton of bricks. I rarely see my sin for what it really is, and those glimpses are such reality it's disturbing! The results of that time, however, were good. God showed me that HIS character so far supersedes mine and CHRIST'S sacrifice so far supersedes my sin. For my birthday, my boyfriend took me to Colorado Bend State Park. If you've been there you know it looks like Texas wasteland for about a mile and half then turns into a tropical waterfall. I didn't know what to expect, and it was breathtaking.
You can also see a blurry picture here of cosmic bowling. That was an event during Camp Dream. Speak. Live. 2015, which is put on for children who stutter. I had the privilege of being therapist and counselor to five five-year-old campers. This week-long experience pushed me to exhaustion but gave me such an appreciation for people who stutter and what life is like for them. I think I would love to work in fluency if the opportunity ever arose.
JULY.
In July, though I was still working as a vision therapist and taking online classes AND completing my medical externship, I found time to visit home. My boyfriend got to be introduced to my immediate and extended family, hang out with my brothers and I at Disneyland, (attempt to) ride my dad's motorcycle, and meet my friends. Nana turned 90. I can't even imagine what it must be like to live for nine decades.
My medical externship was at Austin Speech Labs, a nonprofit stroke rehabilitation center. ASL provides affordable therapy for stroke victims after their insurance runs out. I can't express the ways in which my desire to be a speech therapist and truly HELP PEOPLE is aligned with this idea of providing affordable therapy. The ability to communicate shouldn't just be for the people who can afford the extra expense of therapy sessions. How do I make this happen? I'm not sure...
AUGUST.
This was a month of a lot of prayer. In fact, the whole summer was one for praying about the future. I had determined not to say some of the things I had floating around in my head until I had sat on them and given them to God all summer. I think I had wanted some of the answers to be a lot clearer. One morning, when I was so exasperated by the impending conversations I would have, the Lord brought my attention to Proverbs 16:20:
Whoever gives though to a matter will discover good, AND blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
So I had not erred in giving good though to a matter, but furthermore, it was my job to entrust what I had been thinking over to the Lord for both the means and the outcome.
One fantastic development of August was that I moved into a new apartment, and for the first time, occupied space with a roommate. She was, and continues to be, a thoroughly remarkable individual who encourages me and teaches me so much without trying. Between her, my boyfriend, and friendships that were growing stronger and stronger, I can safely say I ended the summer with a deeper appreciation for God's sovereignty in my life.
SEPTEMBER.
This the month I discovered that I, like my mom, have kidney stones. The day after Labor Day, following epic cliff jumping and laughing with friends, I woke up in terrible pain and drove myself to the ER. I don't know if the pain I experienced was equivalent to childbirth (as they say), but I can say I would be happy not to experience it again. That, however, is unlikely, as they found another stone that could pass at any time. The good news in all of this is I learned to rely on God in the midst of physical pain like I had never experienced before!
This is also the month that my boyfriend played an open mic night that would lead him to being invited back as part of an event show on Dirty 6th, which was a dream of his since he moved to Austin.
OCTOBER.
Boyfriend's favorite month because... Halloween. While we didn't do much to celebrate, we rallied a group together to go to the House of Torment (an unfortunately disappointing haunted house). Seeing as that's been something we both wanted to do since one of our very first conversations, it at least had the value of being some kind of fulfilled foreshadowing in my mind.
As the year began to come to a close, I found myself reflecting on the lessons I was learning and realizing they were coming seemingly every couple of weeks! I look at this picture of my coworkers and I at a goodbye luncheon and think, what lesson can be learned from my time with these specific people??
NOVEMBER.
Month of Thanksgiving! And a month for much thankfulness. I considered doing something like a gratitude challenge but really it felt as though gratitude had been an overwhelming them of my repeated brokenness, my recognition of God's goodness to teach me, and the resulting heart of thanks! While this semester was probably my most difficult yet (every other week would feel like I was absolutely drowning), I was provided the sweetest externship working in a preschool class at Capitol School of Austin. Almost all of the kids in my class had speech and language problems, and this group therapy setting in a naturalistic environment for children was one that was new to me. There was also some much-needed snuggle time.
Bryan did a series at Harvest called, "Go Before Us," a prayer to the Lord to pave the way for us. We wrote the names of the people we'd be praying God would save on a chalk wall and it was powerful. I don't know of anyone getting saved directly as a result of this series, but I have to think all the prayers of salvation resounding were pleasing to God. This month a few of us started official training for the leadership of small groups; something that is already proving so helpful as we head into small groups for the next year.
DECEMBER.
Could it be? Here I am, last day of December. This is my favorite month, if I were to name one, because of Christmas. I LOVE Christmas. I feel that I could go on and on about my visit home for the holiday, but that's a post for another time. Suffice it to say it was a completely unique experience to any of my other visits home, and that once I landed in Austin again, I was supremely happy. That being said, I miss my sweet family, who are now in Georgia without me this year...
And now, 2016. On my last day in California, I prayed at the beach for this new year and the things I hope to see God do in the lives of my loved ones over the next 12 months. I will continue to pray, because my God is GOOD - and he is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
2015.
JANUARY.
When my parents dropped me off at the Atlanta airport to go back to Austin after my first visit home, I ran straight to the bathroom and cried my eyes out in a stall. It felt like a big deal since I hardly cried when I left home - and proceeded to get really sick because the holidays had been so nonstop. But New Years was a blast because Morgan came into town and we rang in 2015 with a bunch of strangers at a disco roller rink. We were probably the only sober people there. But it was so memorable.
I had just finished my first semester of grad school, and headed into my second. It was starting to feel like I was finally getting in the swing of things.
FEBRUARY.
I guess a lot more happened in this month than I really knew would. I went out on a coffee date, expecting to want to leave after 30 minutes but stayed for almost 3 hours. Looking back on that time, I see that God was working to shape me from the person I had been when I lived in California to the new person he is continually making me. I couldn't possibly have predicted the effects of February's happenings.
I also held a human brain for the first time. This one was decades old. It's heavier than you'd imagine... We did this as part of an outing for our Conversation Club at UT, which is group therapy for adults. While I've always wanted to work with kids, I found planning these sessions a great deal of fun. I don't remember this semester being as taxing as the first, which I'm really grateful for.
MARCH.
In March, both my mom and Lucy came to visit during Spring Break. Not sure why I only managed to get pictures with Lucy (actually I do; she brought a selfie stick with her). It was great fun to have Lucy around, but when my mom arrived just days later, it seemed that everything went wrong. I had car troubles, we got in little arguments, I just felt tired.. But I look back on that time and see that God greatly provided for me through my parents (I was never in a pinch because of my car breaking down!) and even drew closer to mom as we talked about life and me living in Austin. It was my first time receiving real dating advice from my mother -- that's always noteworthy.
There's a great deal of art everywhere in Austin, all kinds of messages and graffiti and things to make you think or just say WOW! "I will not accept mediocrity" became one of my favorites, because I adhere to the idea that we are to always push ourselves, always step it up, always keep growing. But now, as I look at the sign, I wonder if I were seeing it afresh if it would be a favorite of mine after all. I would hate for someone to see me bearing these words and think, "But I am mediocre, will she not accept me?" Food for thought...
APRIL.
I remember April being salient for a number of reasons. I was growing closer to the members of my community group, trying to lead discussions and meet with younger women. God was continually bringing new young women to church on Sundays, whom I was getting to meet. I remember thinking how exciting it was to get to draw people in, but how much I felt I was NOT READY for the responsibility I was being given. Good thing our God is compassionate, knowing me inside and out!
In April our friends Daniel and Jennifer got married, and we got our first picture together. I was basically terrified but I asked him if he'd want to come to California to meet my family in the summer... and was so excited when he said "of course". I think this month we began to work out how dating would play out, since this was no longer a "new" thing. It was rough for a bit, but better as we learned to communicate ourselves and keep expectations in check.
MAY.
This month seemed to fly by. Mostly it rained cats and dogs. When it didn't, it was beautiful. Free outdoor concerts and peacock-watching at various parks in Austin took up the weekends. I met my boyfriend's mom and her fiance (that was terrifying, too). The semester ended. My mind was becoming more reflective and I think that's a GOOD thing.
Months like this are the reason it's my 2016 New Year's Resolution to take more pictures.
JUNE.
June was hard and June was good. I remember June being the first month where my boyfriend rebuked me for something. He did it in a godly manner, but wow, it was like being hit with a ton of bricks. I rarely see my sin for what it really is, and those glimpses are such reality it's disturbing! The results of that time, however, were good. God showed me that HIS character so far supersedes mine and CHRIST'S sacrifice so far supersedes my sin. For my birthday, my boyfriend took me to Colorado Bend State Park. If you've been there you know it looks like Texas wasteland for about a mile and half then turns into a tropical waterfall. I didn't know what to expect, and it was breathtaking.
You can also see a blurry picture here of cosmic bowling. That was an event during Camp Dream. Speak. Live. 2015, which is put on for children who stutter. I had the privilege of being therapist and counselor to five five-year-old campers. This week-long experience pushed me to exhaustion but gave me such an appreciation for people who stutter and what life is like for them. I think I would love to work in fluency if the opportunity ever arose.
JULY.
In July, though I was still working as a vision therapist and taking online classes AND completing my medical externship, I found time to visit home. My boyfriend got to be introduced to my immediate and extended family, hang out with my brothers and I at Disneyland, (attempt to) ride my dad's motorcycle, and meet my friends. Nana turned 90. I can't even imagine what it must be like to live for nine decades.
My medical externship was at Austin Speech Labs, a nonprofit stroke rehabilitation center. ASL provides affordable therapy for stroke victims after their insurance runs out. I can't express the ways in which my desire to be a speech therapist and truly HELP PEOPLE is aligned with this idea of providing affordable therapy. The ability to communicate shouldn't just be for the people who can afford the extra expense of therapy sessions. How do I make this happen? I'm not sure...
AUGUST.
This was a month of a lot of prayer. In fact, the whole summer was one for praying about the future. I had determined not to say some of the things I had floating around in my head until I had sat on them and given them to God all summer. I think I had wanted some of the answers to be a lot clearer. One morning, when I was so exasperated by the impending conversations I would have, the Lord brought my attention to Proverbs 16:20:
Whoever gives though to a matter will discover good, AND blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
So I had not erred in giving good though to a matter, but furthermore, it was my job to entrust what I had been thinking over to the Lord for both the means and the outcome.
One fantastic development of August was that I moved into a new apartment, and for the first time, occupied space with a roommate. She was, and continues to be, a thoroughly remarkable individual who encourages me and teaches me so much without trying. Between her, my boyfriend, and friendships that were growing stronger and stronger, I can safely say I ended the summer with a deeper appreciation for God's sovereignty in my life.
SEPTEMBER.
This the month I discovered that I, like my mom, have kidney stones. The day after Labor Day, following epic cliff jumping and laughing with friends, I woke up in terrible pain and drove myself to the ER. I don't know if the pain I experienced was equivalent to childbirth (as they say), but I can say I would be happy not to experience it again. That, however, is unlikely, as they found another stone that could pass at any time. The good news in all of this is I learned to rely on God in the midst of physical pain like I had never experienced before!
This is also the month that my boyfriend played an open mic night that would lead him to being invited back as part of an event show on Dirty 6th, which was a dream of his since he moved to Austin.
OCTOBER.
Boyfriend's favorite month because... Halloween. While we didn't do much to celebrate, we rallied a group together to go to the House of Torment (an unfortunately disappointing haunted house). Seeing as that's been something we both wanted to do since one of our very first conversations, it at least had the value of being some kind of fulfilled foreshadowing in my mind.
As the year began to come to a close, I found myself reflecting on the lessons I was learning and realizing they were coming seemingly every couple of weeks! I look at this picture of my coworkers and I at a goodbye luncheon and think, what lesson can be learned from my time with these specific people??
NOVEMBER.
Month of Thanksgiving! And a month for much thankfulness. I considered doing something like a gratitude challenge but really it felt as though gratitude had been an overwhelming them of my repeated brokenness, my recognition of God's goodness to teach me, and the resulting heart of thanks! While this semester was probably my most difficult yet (every other week would feel like I was absolutely drowning), I was provided the sweetest externship working in a preschool class at Capitol School of Austin. Almost all of the kids in my class had speech and language problems, and this group therapy setting in a naturalistic environment for children was one that was new to me. There was also some much-needed snuggle time.
Bryan did a series at Harvest called, "Go Before Us," a prayer to the Lord to pave the way for us. We wrote the names of the people we'd be praying God would save on a chalk wall and it was powerful. I don't know of anyone getting saved directly as a result of this series, but I have to think all the prayers of salvation resounding were pleasing to God. This month a few of us started official training for the leadership of small groups; something that is already proving so helpful as we head into small groups for the next year.
DECEMBER.
Could it be? Here I am, last day of December. This is my favorite month, if I were to name one, because of Christmas. I LOVE Christmas. I feel that I could go on and on about my visit home for the holiday, but that's a post for another time. Suffice it to say it was a completely unique experience to any of my other visits home, and that once I landed in Austin again, I was supremely happy. That being said, I miss my sweet family, who are now in Georgia without me this year...
And now, 2016. On my last day in California, I prayed at the beach for this new year and the things I hope to see God do in the lives of my loved ones over the next 12 months. I will continue to pray, because my God is GOOD - and he is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
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