Reflecting...

During these past few days I have been doing a lot of reflection. It is now the year 2010 and we have entered a new decade. I can vividly remember when the year 2000 was rapdily approaching and how everyone was so worried about Y2K and what that might bring. That now seems lightyears away as I am now graduated from college and living half way around the world in China, something I could have not even fathomed at the turn of of the century. The past decade has been a whirlwind, but the year 2009 seems to have passed by in a blur that has taken several days for me to completely unpack, and I am sure there is still more work I could do.
Some would say the biggest accomplishment of the past year would be graduating from college. And won’t lie, it was a pretty big accomplishment. College was a huge time of growth and learning for me in all area of my life and graduation was super exciting! But I would have to disagree. I believe the biggest accomplishment of this past year is that I have really and truly listened to God and learned to follow His plan for my life instead of trying to follow my own.
When I started this blog I was in the middle of many different life changing decisions. The quote that I tried to revolve my life around and is the name sake of this blog is “Not what I have planned, even better.” This year I have really and truly learned that Gods plans are so much better. My plans definitly didn’t involve coming to China. If you know me at all you know I like to stay close to home, I would rather stay ot home with my family or a few close friends than go out and do things and I am not a huge fan of change. Lets just say that God took this things and reworked all of them for His glory.
These past three months in China have been more than I could ever imagine. I have been broken down, crushed, homesick, emotionally, physically, and spiritually drianed, but I have also experienced restoration, redemtion, blessings, grace, and more love that I could ever imagine.
About a month ago a group of us were watching a sermon that a few of us had allready seen. At the end of the sermon the worship band plays the song, Blessed be Your Name. After reflection I realized that the first time I listened to the sermon I was at the other side of song. The part that starts out with “When I’ve found in the desert place” is exactly where I was finding myself. It was right around Thanksgiving and the first wave of homesickness was hitting hard. I was also sick and completely overwhelmed with everything going on during the session. During this time I had to rely on God more than I ever have had to in my life and I eventually dug out of that season. The second time I watched the sermon I was back on the “When the sun’s shining down on me and the worlds all as it should be” part of the song. Being able to look back and reflect on how faithful God is and how through it all I can truly say “Blessed be YOUR Name!”
That really sums up my time in China. God has blessed me richly through every experience I have been part of. I have no idea what He has in store for me in 2010 but I can tell you that I am excited to find out along the way. I know I will go through valleys and mountians, but in the end I hope that I will stand and proclaim, Blessed be your Name!