Year Reflections || Photo Journal
God bless Apple and the brilliant photographic Iphone. The good Lord knows people like me need it to remember what we ate (Instagram) and who said what (Twitter) and who snapped the photo (Facebook). Is this lack of remembrance due to early onset Alzheimer's or my goldfish memory? I'll never know.
For the sake of remembering, I have wanted to do a post like this for a while. Shauna Niequist writes our lives are like a million little moments, strung together like a pearl necklace. So here is a tiny glimpse of my pearl necklace from last May 2012 to July 2013. We must intentionally remember, as not to accidentally forget how near God has brought us when we were still so far.
May 9, 2012 - The one where I ran a half-marathon. WITHOUT STOPPING.
Bucket List. I have never been a runner and anything over three miles is sending my ADD brain through the ringer (I get distracted easily). But a 13.1 mile run was the best senior year experience I needed. It pushed me mentally and stretched my endurance and made me even more self-disciplined than ever before. I am so glad I ran it in Lincoln, NE, but my philosophy for half-marathons are like my philosophy for marriage and natural child-birth: one and done.
May 19, 2012 - The one where I graduated college & ended my speech with "I Will Survive" lyrics
The best day. Except the wind. It was so surreal to stand on that podium and look around at my dearest friends and marvel at how God transformed all of us in different kinds of way over the short four years we did life together at Tabor. One of my favorite memories is walking up the ramp after the ceremony ended through a gauntlet of applauding faculty. Grateful, indeed.
May 20, 2012 - The one where I was a youth ministry intern at a Megachurch
Difficult, challenging, humbling summer. Houston, you are my Nineveh. I was your Jonah.
June 2012 - The one where Caitlin Levine was my soul-floatie.
Wouldn't have made it through the Houston summer without my best friend's encouragement, perspective, and unconditional love and prayers over Black Walnut coffee and brunch. Best.
August 2012 - The one where deliverance dropped me back on Hillsboro's doorstep
Still had to conquer a semester of student teaching in order to officially graduate, but after Houston, landing back in Kansas was like seeing a rainbow after a long, hard rain. Promising.
August 2012 - the one where God taught me the weight of grace
Mentor advice from Sara Jo Waldron. Game-changer.
October 2012 - The one where I learned how to manage stress
Fact: when your student-teaching placement might have been in Hades and your cooperating teacher might have been a thorn in your side and you find yourself doing a job you aren't getting paid for and you hate your life, the only simple solution is to go running at night around Tabor's track. The clear, blazing stars soothe the soul and lowers your blood pressure. A glorious win-win.
December 2012 - The one were I was emancipated
Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I am free at last!
January 2013 - The one where I rode a camel in Petra.
Fergie and My Humps and Incredible History.
January 2013 - the one where I planked where Jesus planked.
Holy Land trip with Tabor. Is this real life? Soul changed.
February 2012 - The one where I had to say good-bye
In the fall I prayed that God would bring people into my life that would refresh my spirit. Enter these five beautiful young ladies. My Sunday school girls blessed me so much and I had to say good-bye to them in the spring. I made them promise to always follow their dreams and never marry a man with a mullet then when I left, I cried like a baby all the way back to Oklahoma.
February 2012 - The one where I moved back in with parents and became a struggling and depressed unemployed college graduate
Tough, but in a sanctifying kind of way. This was practice round of "don't put your identity in what you do and/or how successful or independent you are" because all spring I was D: NONE OF THE ABOVE.
I watched a lot of Netflix, became borderline-not-okay addicted to Friday Night Lights and spent most of my day reading and/or going to the movies with Maria Loewen and reading rejection e-mails. The dream, people. That's called living the dream.
Tough, but in a sanctifying kind of way. This was practice round of "don't put your identity in what you do and/or how successful or independent you are" because all spring I was D: NONE OF THE ABOVE.
I watched a lot of Netflix, became borderline-not-okay addicted to Friday Night Lights and spent most of my day reading and/or going to the movies with Maria Loewen and reading rejection e-mails. The dream, people. That's called living the dream.
March 2013 - the one where I hung out with hippies in Arizona
Couple perks to being an unemployed college graduate and having teacher friends: spring break still happens. This trip was so necessary for my soul to remember how to breathe and that it all was going to BE OK.
April 2013 - The one where sunsets helped me feel not as lost as I truly was
The most glaring temptation for a recent college grad is comparison. Why is it working out for everyone else? Finding a job seems so easy for so-and-so! Comparison is the thief of joy and it definitely doesn't lend a helping hand when finding a job. It was an incredibly difficult spring of waiting and praying and searching. More to come about this season of life on my next blog post.
May 2013 - The one where I realized I didn't trust God as much as I thought I did
At Your Word, Lord, I will believe and obey.
Your word is Trustworthy, Your word is True.
I will let down my net.
Your word is Trustworthy, Your word is True.
I will let down my net.
May 2013 - The one where I almost went to teach English in China for a year but moved to Manhattan instead
Almost moved to China for a year, but Kansas (and other reasons) couldn't let me go just yet.
I love Kansas because I love nature and clouds and blue skies and the horizon. I moved to Manhattan to live with some of my best friends for the summer with no guarantee of a job/income and no guarantee of a place to live in August. But God is Jehovah Jirah - He provides all of our needs.
I love Kansas because I love nature and clouds and blue skies and the horizon. I moved to Manhattan to live with some of my best friends for the summer with no guarantee of a job/income and no guarantee of a place to live in August. But God is Jehovah Jirah - He provides all of our needs.
June 2013 - the one where I became a barista
Ok, seriously people. Stop ordering diva drinks such as: skinny half-shot vanilla/hazelnut double cappuccino, no foam blah blah blah. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SAYING.
Fact: going into a place and asking if they are hiring is intimidating and humbling. But the Lord provided this job for me and it was a great experience. I definitely wouldn't make it long-term in food service, but at least now I know how to make your diva drinks on a Porsche espresso machine, all at 4:30 a.m., so THERE.
p.s. - always tip well. ALWAYS.
June 2013 - The one where surrender is salvation
"It may be one of those miracles where your heart sinks, because you think it means your have lost. But in surrender you have won." - Anne Lammott
Thank you, indeed.
July 1, 2013 - The one where God provided a big-girl job in Social Work with business cards to boot
Big-girl pantalonies. Blog post on this coming soon.
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1 comments
Oh I loved everything about this. I believe reflection is one of the most important things we as humans can do. Looking at the past in a contemplative way truly helps us see the present in a fresh way. Only love for you, Sarah.
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