I love any excuse to reflect and set new goals for the future. Many people enjoy using the New Year for this purpose, but why limit myself to only once a year? I think birthdays are wonderful times to think about the last year of your life and the year ahead. These are the things I thought about on my recent 24th birthday. What I achieved and what I hope to do in the year to come.
Last Year
My 23rd year of life was a rollercoaster. It started off with having to go back to a job that I didn’t want to do while battling postpartum anxiety after a miscarriage. Many tears were shed, and panic attacks had in those first four months. It was a time of barely surviving the day-to-day.
Looking back, I can so clearly see God at work in that time and how he carried me through. So many days that I would get to the end and have no idea how I managed to put one foot in front of the other. It was a time when He taught me how to truly be patient and to wait on His timing. I learned that though it might not make sense at the time, there is a purpose for all the pain.
The rest of the year was one of great growth… physically. In March, I received the wonderful news that I am pregnant! I have spent a good majority of this time growing my sweet little baby and thinking about the future with him. I started this blog as well as a soap shop on Etsy. I have worked hard to get my heart and home ready to welcome this little one.
Accomplishments
- I made my first quilt.
- I have almost finished creating a person.
- I started my own business.
This Year
I am very excited for the year ahead and all the promises it holds. I have a much brighter outlook on what lies ahead.
New Life
First, and most exciting, we have the wonderful opportunity to get to welcome a brand new life into this world! I am so excited. In less than a month, there will be a little person I get to love and hold. I think that fact automatically makes this the best year of my life. I think it will probably be topped by the year I have the next baby.
On a similar note, I am pretty excited to not be pregnant this next year. Not that pregnancy has been a miserable experience. I have no qualms about doing it again in the future, but it is not the most convenient thing.
Holidays
I am very excited about next year’s holidays. Especially Christmas. I have been a bit of a grinch the last several years, and this year, I am determined not to be. Not only will my husband be with me, but we will have a new baby to get to celebrate with as well! He is making the Christmas shopping very easy as well. Congratulations, you got a grandson/ nephew for Christmas. You’re welcome.
Spiritual Life
My mom and I have been reading Prayer: The Ultimate Conversation by Charles Stanley. It has made me realize how much I am missing worship from my prayer life. I am quick to give thanks and praise and even more so to ask for things, but I very rarely sit and worship the Lord.
When I was looking into the significance of the number 24, I found that it is referred to as the number of continual worship. What better time than now to really focus on making worship a priority? I hope that this year will be one of continual worship in my life and that I will carry it on forever into my future.
Goals
- Have a baby
- Worship continually
- Finish the quilt for my bed
- Lose pregnancy weight
I hope you have the happiest birthday you have ever had and get to enjoy a day as wonderful as you are. If you have any achievements from the last year or goals for the year to come, I would love to hear them in the comments below.
Did you know I sell soap?
Check out my homemade tallow soap on Etsy!