I came in to the year 2016 with one distinct goal (or "resolution" if you will): spend a year in God's truth and see what growth follows.
More specifically, I wanted to be in God's word all 366 days of 2016. I wanted to read at least one chapter of my Bible every day. Throughout college, I've had up and down seasons with reading my Bible. I've had months where I'm in it consistently and months where I'm out of it consistently.
In college, it's really easy to get distracted by what's around you. There's always people to be around and always work that needs to get done. It's easy to get overwhelmed, and it's easy to make excuses.
Being intentional and creating a habit of spending time with Jesus every day prepared me for an emotionally tolling year, that yielded immense growth as a result. Through the following challenges, I learned that there are silver linings to everything life throws at you:
1) Death.
Death seems to be very present this year, as many have experienced heartbreak hearing of their favorite celebrities dying far too soon.
Just a few days in to the new year, four guys I went to high school with drowned in a tragic canoeing accident. One happened to be a guy I knew most of my life, growing up playing baseball together. Another was a good friend that I spent a lot of time with during my junior high and high school years at our church youth group. Through church, I became friends with his mom. Not only did I feel the devastation that the accident brought me and my friends, but I saw just how tragic it was for his family. Over the next couple of weeks, more deaths occurred. And it felt like I was just trapped in this darkness that would never pass.
2) Suicide.
A number of suicides occurred near me. As someone that has dealt with depression and anxiety, I think the sadness hits people like me in a way that may be different from others. We know what the battle is like and we want to see other people overcome it. And when they don't, it breaks our hearts.
3) Loneliness.
Transferring into Valparaiso was a much greater social challenge than I ever expected. Gone were the days of being around friends all the time. Instead, I've spent much time feeling isolated, alone and on my own. I didn't have anyone to live with and I had to move in to a studio apartment on my own. I spent a lot of weekends feeling cooped-up and bummed.
4) Physical Illness.
I was diagnosed with Graves' disease at the end of September and was unable to exercise for months. I had an allergic reaction to my medication that lasted two weeks and brought immense pain to my body. Some days, some of my bones felt broken. The illness itself brought on a great deal of fatigue that made classes harder than they ever needed to be. In addition, my sister tore her ACL and had to miss most of her junior softball season and my grandma has had some health concerns of her own.
5) Overall Anxiety.
Having anxiety, it can be difficult to find the positives when things aren't going your way. Throughout the year I felt the weight of all these things crashing down, and in turn it brought uncertainty to me at times. Graves' is known to increase anxiety, and in the back-half of the summer, I started to really panic about going back to school and returning to the isolation.
I listed off these challenges because I think everyone reading this can relate to at least one of them. At least one of these problems probably nagged you in 2016.
But here I am, standing tall at the end of it. And I can honestly say that each of these things, allowed me to grow and it taught me one big overarching message.
If I do everything that God wants me to do, what in the world do I have to worry about?
In the midst of the storms that rapidly flooded in, God was there to show me that he loved me every single day. I was reminded of his truth every single day. I was reminded that he was there in my battles, every single day. Meanwhile, God healed me physically and mentally from all these wounds.
I knew that God wanted me to be in his word, growing every day. Each Bible story taught me something different and unique, and I read a lot of encouraging verses and passages along the way. Throughout the year, God improved me in little ways, and I know that I started thinking differently as a result, looking for the positives and trying to find God in the little things. God is there in every single situation. I had the most positive-thinking year of my life.
So if God can do this all in my life, I know that he can certainly do the same in your life. He can bring healing and comfort where it is needed.
My suggestion? Try to spend 2017 hanging on the words of our Father in heaven. Try to get in to that Bible every day; you won't regret it. I guarantee that.
Whatever you decide, I hope that 2017 is a wonderful year for you. I hope that the personal changes that you want to make are able to be made and result in you being happier.
If you decide that you want to spend 2017 in God's word, go ahead and let me know. I would love help and encourage any way that I can. You are loved!
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