Skip to main content

Reflections

The end of the year generally brings a reflection of it. What did I do that was noteworthy? Who did I meet? How did my life change? Who helped change my life? So many questions, answered now on December 31.

I rode a train across the continent.
I went to the lowest point in this hemisphere.
I walked on a glacier.
I made lots of new friends.
I saw a glacier calve into a lake.
I was an EFY counselor and loved every second of it.
I received my mission call.
I danced in the rain at midnight with people I'd never met.
I pulled my first all-nighter.
I made a few movies.
I made decisions not knowing what the future held for me.
I said goodbyes and seeya-laters...too many for my liking.
And so much more.

I met so many people who have touched and affected my life. My amazing co-counselors each taught me something. My EFY youth were amazing examples of strength. Some of my HP friends have taught me to love people in a new way. I met people on the way to Alaska with whom I'll probably never speak again, but they have a special place in my heart. All the people around me have touched me and will not be forgotten. For they are the ones who have made life as it is for me.

With the end of the year comes the review of New Years Resolutions. The point of them is to change your life for the better. One of mine was to write in my journal every day, and write about something I was grateful for or a tender mercy I noticed during the day. It has gotten to the point where I pull out my journal at night, and I can rarely limit it to just one tender mercy. The Lord blesses each of us so much. If we look around daily, we see this so much. It has truly changed my life, and is something I plan to continue to do. I never repeated anything, so looking back in my journal, you'll find 365 different tender mercies from 2009. Some have stories to go along with them, others are as simple as the first snow. My life is such a blessing. In the words of Nickelback, "each day's a gift and not a given right."

Bring on 2010!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

To be or not to be...

...in this case, it is not the question but rather the answer. Today in Church a talk was given that brought up something important to me.  I am a "list person".  I have so many lists, because that is how I stay organized.  The most frequent list I make is a to-do list, generally before I go to bed for the next day (yes, I still have nightly planning sessions, hahahaha, picked that up from the mission!).  But in this talk, the speaker talked about how we like to-do lists because we can check things off as we finish.  But have we ever thought about a "To be" list?  So that got me thinking.  And tonight for my scripture study, I was pondering over this and decided that I also needed to make a "Not to be" list.  And these are lists that will stay with me for life, as I will never be perfect and will always be working on becoming more like Christ.  Because that is the ultimate goal of a "to be" list.  So here is the result of my study: T...

10 Things I love about Hannaford

So originally I was going to do this in sarcasm...but then decided that I could actually come up with 10 things (in no specific order) I like about my job. Even though being a cashier at a grocery store is not ideal, it's a job, and...well, you'll see. 1. Going on break with my dad sometimes. Because, you know, we work in the same store. It's pretty cool. 2. I love the people I work with soooooo much! Mainly the ones during the day, because I don't know any of the high school kids that work evenings, because I rarely work evenings. 3. Being the "party animal". nuff said. 4. Watching a cashier ID someone for alcohol, and him telling us that he doesn't even have a photo ID since his license was taken away for DWI. Yeah, maybe he should rethink his purchase... 5. Now when I hear the name of a vegetable, I automatically think of its PLU. Dates: 3047. Cabbage: 4069. Bananas: 4011. Tree Ripe Peaches: 4044. Eastern Peaches: 4403. Nectarines: 4378....

"What do you want for Christmas?"

This question is asked countless times during this Christmas season, and is one that has recently been asked of me a few times.  Since my birthday was recent, I heard a few times "what do you want for your birthday?" too.  And it has left me thoughtful... Here, I could talk about how we need to forget the materialism of Christmas and focus on the real meaning, how it isn't about getting but it's about giving, about how we need to love each other more...basically, I could give you any kind of canned, stereotypical answer in response to this subject, but these are not the thoughts I've had! My thoughts have been simple, and I always give the same answer: "I don't want anything".  And then people would push me into saying something, but I literally couldn't (and still can't) come up with anything I need, or even want.  What does that mean?  Life is great. :)  It means that I am satisfied with my life right now...yeah, I've still got questi...