What I've Learned in 2011

As I’m sitting here, reflecting over this past year, I am so amazed at what God has been doing in my life. His love and protection over these past twelve months has comforted me tremendously. Another year, He has blessed me with food to eat, a roof over my head, family members who surround me, friends that truly care, animals that keep me out of trouble, and valuable lessons that I should never forget.

Even though this last year has been a blessed one, it’s still been quite busy, as well. I turned eighteen, got my driver’s license, bought my first vehicle, graduated from high school, started college, went to a fair number of new horse shows throughout the summer, and participated in several other activities. In the midst of all that was happening, I realized that I needed to do something. I needed to take “time out” and talk to God. I had never really needed to think about taking a “time out” as much as this last year. I had plenty of time to converse with my Maker when I was still in high school and life was a bit more simple. Now that I was somewhat on my own and had a busier schedule I had to “make” time. I found that this worked best for me in the evening, when most of my chores were done and I could just sit down and relax. I loved it, because it gave me time to think about what I was doing and if my “list of things to do” was bringing glory to God. I found that taking some time throughout the day, whenever I could find 5-10 minutes to go off by myself, worked well, too.

I also learned this year that perseverance is even more important than I thought it was. This year, more than other years, I felt swamped and just wanted to quit. There were lots of times when I was writing in my book and I would get “writer’s block” or when my horse just didn’t want to learn anything new or even playing a difficult piece on the piano that I just couldn’t get down. I had to learn to keep going at whatever it was that I was trying to do, even if that meant that I had to miss out on some fun events. I believe that making deadlines helped me stay focused. Sometimes I didn’t get them done by that date, but I was just glad that I could get the job done.

In closing, I hope that our posts will encourage you to stay strong in the faith, strengthen you in your Christian walk, and inspire you to draw closer to our heavenly Father.
~Anna