This is usually the time of making resolutions for the New Year. As people prepare for a bigger, better, brighter 2017, I am reflecting on the year that is soon to end. Many social media sites are creating a slide show for its users. I don’t think they know the highs and lows quit like I do.
Here is my 2016 in review! You are welcome to walk down memory lane with me. (The images throughout the post are a few of my most popular posts. Click the image to read the entire article)
2016 has been a year of drawing lines.
2015 and 2016 brought many great opportunities to write for other magazines. My articles were being accepted by publications like Huffington Post and Scary Mommy. My writing portfolio grew exponentially and I was actually bringing in a steady cash flow (as minimal as it might have been to some!)
At times, I felt like my articles were getting much more hype than my actual book. While my mom posts were light and full of satire, my book addressed some difficult but hard topics parents must address. Thankfully, that changed and the book has picked up momentum but I still clung to what got me noticed by my readers…light, but never too deep mommy memior. And even though I enjoyed discussing the everyday mom stuff, I longed for something deeper and richer.
I began praying for God to show me what I needed to focus on in my family and my ministry. It wasn’t the answer I was seeking but I have never been so satisfied. In June, I stepped back from the mommy blogging and started writing articles that I felt drew people to God, answering deeper questions than what I was cooking that night.
And what I found were a lot of bloggers feeling like I did. They felt like they had compromised their voice and God’s truth for a few more followers. I found parents that actually wanted the deep stuff and for those that didn’t we said our farewells and wished one another blessings on their journey.
2016 has been a year of stepping back.
I knew the transition from mommy blogger to whatever God is still developing would bring a lot of change and unease. And in keeping with my promise to always be transparent with my readers, it has been much more difficult than I expected. I don’t always do well in slow seasons. I am not a patient person, especially when I know God is using the very season I am in to teach and mold me. I don’t enjoy the waiting place in life.
Yet, I see fruit and I see doors opening to whatever the next step will be. I am not totally sure what all 2017 will bring, but I trust God and His timing.
God has planted a new desire in my heart for parents. He has used my past and my struggles in my faith to ignite a burning desire to help those seeking more in their faith.
Maybe everything that I went through in my college years truly had a purpose!
Amazing huh? God saw how He would use me long before I saw any purpose in my pain.
Simply amazing.
2016 has been a year of embracing life’s seasons.
What I realized is God’s charge in my life, for this season, is to minister to my family and provide my children the necessary tools to walk out their faith. And yes, I need that gentle reminder sometimes because I am like everyone else. I get distracted by plans and ideas and desires of my heart. But I know that God’s plan is ultimate and never looks like my plans. However, I know that when my trajectory changes, Abba knows what He is doing.
Maybe I will write another book, but maybe I won’t.
Maybe I will finally live out my dream of moving to Europe, but maybe I won’t.
Maybe my kids will grow up to be perfect and I will not age….ever. Yeah well, that is a definite won’t but here’s to hope, right?
The point is I can trust God with my past, present and future.
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I am so thankful for each of you. I am thankful for your support, even when I drastically changed my blog content. I am honored for the opportunities presented to me in 2016 to speak in various communities of women. 2017 is expected to be another great year of fellowship and connection around the topics of my first book.
I have pushed past my comfort zone on many occasions, only to be embraced by men and women of different backgrounds and viewpoints. The wonderful people I have met has been life changing. Some of you, not even knowing you were doing it, spoke life into me and helped me push past some dry patches.
Whatever 2017 brings, I pray that God continues to be at the center of your families and your life.
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