Another Year

Friday was my 24th birthday. I spent the day catching up on TV shows, listening to some good music on Youtube, hanging out with Jerry in Old Town, and having dinner with old and new friends at TGIF. It was a really fun day, and I also had some time to reflect on how my 23rd year has been.

This year has been joyous and tough in many aspects. For one, I got engaged a year ago on my birthday. It was fun to re-watch Jerry's proposal video and feel all those excited emotions flow through me again. At the same time, becoming engaged to Jerry came with newfound responsibilities and it really defined our lives. We were no longer just Jerry and Mel, pursuing our callings from God as a dating couple - we were now Jerry and Mel, pursuing our calling from God as a couple that would be married soon. It was scary and yet refreshing, but it did come with its own set of challenges. 

I guess you could say for a part of 2010, Jerry and I were living the charmed life - I was doing well in grad school, loving teaching, and he had a wonderful job and was making a decent salary. We were happily engaged and it seemed like life was perfect - everything was going right.

Until June 2010, when Jerry lost his job. 

This sent us into 4 months of uncertainty - would we have to postpone the wedding? I didn't have a job at the time either, and had only really looked to go to Maryland, where Jerry was. But God was not giving any clear answers. The only thing I knew at times was that I needed to be with him - wherever that may be. That was so scary - having faith that God had a plan but having to make decisions not really knowing what that plan was yet. It was like driving through the rain - you can kind of see where you're going but at the same time, just trusting that God had our lives in His hands.

And He did.

I've learned a lot this year about trust and having faith - God led us through a period of time where we were uncertain whether we would have enough financially for another month, but through that He also taught us important money lessons about what it is you really need to survive. And in the end, we still had each other, and we learned to be content with what we had. These are just some of the lessons we've learned this year that I know will benefit us greatly in the future!

I am looking forward to what this next year is going to bring - I'm sure it will be challenging but good in stretching our faith as we get older. God has been there directing each step, and I'm sure He will continue to do so. :) I had a wonderful birthday, and I'm looking forward to reflecting on this upcoming year!