Reflections on 2010

Going full throttle until the last day of school and then immediately entering into break was a rough transition for me. I experienced what I like to call a "whip-lash" effect. All of a sudden, I didn't know what to do with myself and I became hyper aware of everything around me. Hence, my post title of "Reflections on 2010." As I look back on this year it has been full of extreme highs and lows. For example, some of the highs were getting married and getting my first job. Some of the lows were looking for a job, starting my job (haha...oh, the irony), and making friends. Unfortunately, between the lows and highs I have experienced a lot of anxiety and the Lord has challenged me to clench on tightly to Him.

I was having a rough day this past week. So what did I do? I called my sister, of course! She is always great for advice/peace of mind/laughter. She ended up reading a chapter out of Shauna Niequist's book, "Bittersweet" out loud to me on the phone for about 10 minutes. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and decided I would buy one of her books for some good reading material before Matt and I left for Buffalo. The next day, I was getting my hair done and noticed that my hair dresser had a little quote on her mirror that read something like...

"Life is both bitter and sweet. When life is bitter, thank God and grow.

When life is sweet, thank God and celebrate."

I asked my hairdresser if that quote was from Shauna Niequist's book, and it was!

I love when God speaks to me in obvious ways. It was not an answer to my worries or anxieties but it was all I needed to keep me going and know that God was listening. Cool, huh? I picked up another one of Niequist's book, "Cold Tangerines," and read it in a few days. I was hooked. Here is a part that I especially liked....

"Everything is interim. Everything is a path or preparation for the next thing, and we never know what the next thing is....I want to arrive. I want to get wherever I'm going and stay there. That's why I was such a ferocious planner of my life. But I'm learning to just keep moving, keep walking, keep taking teeny tiny steps. And it's in those teeny tiny steps and moments that I become, actually, who I am. We won't arrive. But we can become. And that's the most hopeful thing I can think of. "

So, here I come 2011, with no plans. Ready to give up my planner and see the beauty in the interim of my life. I am scared, but really, what do I have to lose?