Moment: January 1st, 2020 at 12:00 AM CST
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
So here we are: the year 2020. The first thing my friends said to me when the clock struck 12 was, “This is the year that we graduate!!” to which we all collectively flipped out because it felt like this year would never come. There are going to be a LOT in store this year in addition to graduating college, such as pursuing musical endeavors and going on my first mission trip, just to name a few. This decade will bring the start and end of medical school, the entrance into my 30’s (um, what?!), and so many new things that probably aren’t even in my line of sight right now.
While it’s exciting to anticipate the future, it’s also important to look back (hence the picture lol) on where you’ve been and maybe learn a thing or two from your former self. I had a lot of amazing experiences that I had the opportunity to share with many of you all, whether on this blog or in-person, but there were also some really hard times. These taught me that if something is worth doing, it’s definitely not going to be easy (as if that’s never been said before :P) and God shows up when you need Him to.
In the times when I felt like I no longer had anything else to give, I listened to the song “Surrounded (Fight My Battles)” almost non-stop, and it was such a source of strength for me knowing that even though I felt overwhelmed, the Lord surrounded me. I don’t have to do anything to fight my battles other than simply let God take charge and fight for me. This idea went along with a verse that I’ve had hanging on the wall of every room I’ve lived in since starting college. A few years ago, my friends Rachel and Hannah painted Exodus 14:14 for me, which says “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Every year, I get a new bullet journal and a box of pens from Amazon, which I use to plan my weeks, take notes, brain dump, jot down ideas, and basically record everything I want to remember from that year. In the early hours of January 1st, I take a few moments to fill out the first pages with a promise verse and a song that provide a framework for how I want to approach the coming year. For 2020, I chose Exodus 14:14 and “Surrounded” as my verse and song, because I think it’s important to remember that no matter how daunting something may seem to me, I have the God of the universe in my corner.
This doesn’t mean we don’t do our due diligence (try saying that 3 times fast!), but we don’t approach challenges and obstacles the way the world would. The song says “my weapons are praise and thanksgiving.” Those don’t seem like very powerful weapons, but knowing that David defeated Goliath with a single stone is just one of many times that shows that God is able to take what little we can bring and magnify it to something that could slay the fiercest of giants. So this year, my 2020 vision is bringing everything I have to the fight, even though it’s minuscule in comparison to God’s might, and letting Him bring the victory.
