2008 PRAISES

Today is the second day of 2009. In a few hours, I leave with the family to travel an overnight trip to Houston to visit my last living grandparent, grandmother Cogburn. I haven’t seen her in forever, literally… so in a way, I am quite happy to spending 5 hours to and 5 hours back cooped up with my mom, dad, sister and Maggalicious to see and spend a short amount of time with her.

The time off from work over the holidays has been flooded with different emotions revolving around this strange holiday season. The weeks off have been so well-needed and even the past few days have been revitalizing.

So it’s a new year and perhaps everyone tends to become more introspective and contemplative about the upcoming year. We think about the things that we didn’t enjoy about last year and set out to change them for the upcoming year… Like the sea of wide- eyed newbies at the gym that are off two beats of an 8-count and attempting to keep up in Step class, or those pouring out buckets of sweat and thinking that a Spin class only lasted a half hour, OR trying to figure out why that stability ball is only a half ball and why they heck its called a Bosu?

For me, I’d say that I am pretty pleased with where 2008 left me. A lot of things happened which I look back and am so thankful for, things that I wouldn’t change for anything, people and friendships who have entered my life as others have departed… I smile as I know that God has truly blessed me this year.

Inwardly, there has been tremendous growth – some people whom have entered my life to help me step back and to think about choices I needed to make for myself… and in turn, good decisions were made based upon these people... even though they don’t even know they played a part in helping me.

I remember also praying to have really close knit girlfriends in 2008… those that would motivate me in all aspects of my life… those with which I could be myself and not feel afraid about doing so… those that I could truly be open and honest with… and God provided. I am amazed at how quickly some of these friendships have formed. As I look back over the short amount of time, I see that its simply because we chose to invest in eachother… whether it was sharing in eachothers’ success, encouraging eachother in shortcomings, or laughing with tears in our eyes over the goofiest most ridiculous things in “the circle of peas” – I never thought I would have a group of girls that I love and trust and care for as much as I do today.

In 2008 I made a giant leap of… moving down the hallway. In my whole 28 years, I had never lived on my own. While making this decision, “community” came to mind and I wondered if I was trying to avoid it or just finally gain some independence. Once living a few months in my little-one-bedroom, I think God ushered me into even more community and doing so my confidence was strengthened by living independently.

Through living on my own I finally was the one to make decisions on what I deemed right for myself. All this sounds so very selfish when you live by yourself because it IS just you… but by doing so you figure yourself out a little bit more in the process. Things I once had but didn’t upon moving included cable (though my apartment provides the basics Ch 3-12) and internet. Honestly, not having either of the two has been really quite great. I honestly don’t think anyone needs the television, its just something you think you have to have. Sometimes I see it as a waste of living to suffocate time when you could be with people or doing something more meaningful. The times when I’ve really wanted to see something, I’ve watched the show with friends or gone to meet up with people at a bar to watch a game. All in all I haven’t missed much and as I sit here and type this, I know that the battery in my remote is out of juice… however, I’m choosing not to replace it at this time simply because it forces me to spend my time doing other things. “Don’t you get bored,” one might wonder? Sometimes yes, but then again… not really. My balcony overlooks the city skyline and a heavily traveled highway, so I see and hear business nonstop. I just assume that there are enough people out there being busy for me to become one more addition… I’d rather just watch, breathe in their pursuit and relax in the midst of the chaotic scramble of life that consumes us all.

The above answer is the answer for not having internet as well, though its more to rest my eyes as a result of looking at a computer screen at work all day. I think I would like to stay disconnected as long as I have the power to do so as there was once a time when you simply could just be… and so I am just working on getting back to that time – if that’s really at all possible since this is a blog and currently I am posting on it… hm.

To round things out, this year a new job was provided for me. Lo and behold it happened to be quite close in distance to my little-one-bedroom headquarters, actually maybe four minutes away. But not only am I thankful for finally a short commute, if you even want to call it that, but the company and people that I work for and with are really quite great. Though there may be only four, sometimes five of us in the office at a time, I couldn’t be more thankful for meeting this group and starting a new chapter in my career.

Fumbling for a closing paragraph and so I don’t really have one. The family should be picking me up shortly to begin the journey to see grandmother Cogburn and again, I am very happy we’re going to see her. I think I’ll end with part of a chapter in Psalm that has been speaking to me for the past week or so… the reference is Psalm 103, the whole chapter is good but here are verses 1-5.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

verses 15-16.

“As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.”

and verses 21-22.

“Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, O my soul.”

SIGNED: 2009 WONDERS