Reflections on the New Year- better late than never :)

It's a new year which seems like the promise for a fresh start and new things. I usually get a funny feeling that things are different when the calendar turns to January 1st. Sometimes it does indicate that the Lord has changed my spiritual season, and something new is about to begin. This year was a bit different though. I felt like our new year actually started in October, when we moved across the country for a new opportunity. When the year changed to 2014, it didn't feel different, but it was still new. We have only been in our current city for about 4 months and so we are still settling in. We traveled over the holidays and didn't have plans for the new  year, so we went out to dinner just the two of us, talked about what we wanted in our new place in the new year, and went to bed while it was still 2013. I did start my new job on January 2nd, so that was a new thing specifically for 2014, but it was another new thing in a long string of new things.

Honestly, I love moving and changing environments. Moving to a different state provides an opportunity for growth and self-learning that doesn't happen with many other experiences. This being my second time, I knew a little of what to expect, but this is the first time I moved as a married woman. It was easier on some levels to move with a spouse. There wasn't that initial overwhelming sense of loneliness. The loneliness did come however, and that continues to be something we are taking a day at a time. Once you have friends and community, you quickly forgot how long it took to get to that point. Then once that group is gone, you are slowly reminded of how long it takes to build relationships again. I feel like my sense of loneliness is a reminder that my dependence should be on the Lord more than on people. I am guilty of spending more time reading the word and praying when I'm lonely and hurting then making it less of a priority when I'm feeling good. Silly me.

All of that to say, we have been given a fresh start that came a bit earlier than January 1, 2014. I am excited for the new things that God is and will do in our lives as we continue to pursue him. My prayer this year it to always remember that He is the vine and I am the branches and apart from him, I can do nothing.

In His Love,
 Andrea