It's been the strangest year yet. When it began, I was freshly graduated and moved back to Tulsa against all better judgment, where I had no idea what I would do or how I would make friends.
In 2007, I...
- started the year off in a hotel room with some of my friends who had taken it upon themselves to take a VACATION to Tulsa of all places. I'd just spent 6 hours in the Portland airport coming home from my roommate's wedding.
- fell in love.
- got engaged to the love of my life!!
- lost 30 lbs and changed my lifestyle significantly. Still losing!
- went from barely being able to run a mile to running 9 miles in the Tulsa Run!
- started my first real big girl job.
- started my second real big girl job.
- changed career paths 3 times and tried to go back to school when I was still burnt out. Bad idea!
- visited oregon and south padre island.
- was introduced to The Ragamuffin Gospel.
In 2007, God was wonderful:
In a single year, my career aspirations went from making bank with a job that I hate, to starting at scratch schooling for physical therapy, to romanticizing a technical writing position that was basically a glorified data entry job, to where I am now in a job I have grown to love. Jobless to job I love because JT had a friend who had a friend.
In a single year, I picked up The Ragamuffin Gospel because it was recommended by an anointed artist, the late Rich Mullins. Instead of being guilty about my shortcomings and trying to make up for them with selfish motives, the author Brennan Manning showed me how God gives us permission to be free from sin and embrace it, not as imperfection but as a picture of grace and redemption. Because I picked up one CD that told me to read a book, I see God's love in an entirely different light, and what the book says about the Bible is right: true love and relationship free from rules and guilt has transforming powers!
In a single year, my steel determination to focus on a career and stay AWAY from men was forgotten for a man who is so good to me, makes me laugh everyday, and inspires me to grow individually. My fiance's example has gently challenged me to improve my habits, my attitude, and my appreciation for life not because he demands it from me, but because he inspires me and has finally led me to believe that I am worth being the best I can be. Because some friends randomly moved to Tulsa, I went from not knowing how I was going to meet someone to a woman months away from her wedding day.
As I look at where I am now compared to where I was on 01.01.07, I choose to recognize God's hand and His power to change a life and set of circumstances in a minute.
4 comments:
I had a similar epiphanic paradigm change this year as well where I came to much the same realization that you seem to have come to about guilt and sin and all that. Interesting. Sounds like you've had a good year - definitely one where you can see the work of God! Happy 2008!
Em
love the new pic!
Laurie you are wonderful. I am so excited that God worked so much in your life last year and I cannot wait to see what He has in store for this year! I miss you! By the way - I have the same Chacos :)
my my oh how the years fly.
i am so blessed to be apart of them!
good bye 2007, hello 2008, suckers!
love you so much.
see you tomorrow?
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