The year is coming to an end, and I'm doing what probably most people do in December: reflect on the past 12 months. For me, this has been both a great and trying year. At the beginning of this year I made the decision to leave my current teaching job for various reasons. I knew that it wasn't the job for me and that God had something better out there for me. Since I firmly believe that nothing is an accident, and that God has His hand in everything I do, I know my first year of teaching was not wasted at all. I learned a lot and met a lot of great people. While it was frustrating and maddening at times, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
It was an old decrepit building, the roof was leaky and there were bugs, but it was my classroom and that's all that mattered. :-)
I got to spend time with family and friends a lot this year, which I am thankful for.
In June I got to go on a
CRUISE which was
AWESOME!!
I got to go out on the open ocean for five days with friends and just forget about stuff for a while. I also got to visit Jamaica and the Cayman Islands which was an experience in itself. So glad I did that.
The cruise was fun and I really hope to do another someday soon. I still can't get over how these huge things float...??
This summer I had the opportunity to go to a camp in Michigan with my church and work with the youth there. It was one of the best experiences I've had to date. It was something I'd never thought I'd do, and it stretched me in my faith like I'd never had been before. I also got to meet and get to know some amazing people through this process, as well as strengthen new friendships. Also, since I love to travel, it was great to go to a new place. Northern Michigan is beautiful and I enjoyed every minute. It's amazing to see God working so powerfully in a rural county in Northern MI.
Amidst the great experiences, I also had to experience the disappointment of not finding a job at the beginning of the school year like I had hoped. I had to instead go back to my job at Publix so I could pay the bills. While I am extremely blessed to have that waiting for me, it has been a difficult few months financially trying to pay the bills and make it from paycheck to paycheck, but God has proven faithful through all of it, constantly being my Provider. While all my bills didn't always get paid, I always had enough to eat and a place to live. I have definitely learned through this time to trust in my God as my provider, and not my paycheck.
And now at the year's end, I have the opportunity of a new job and experience after the
Christmas holidays and couldn't be more excited about the new year and what's to come. 2010 has been interesting, I'm looking for 2011 to
ROCK!
