525,600 Minutes

It's hard to believe that there are so many minutes in one year. Thank you, Rent.
How do you measure a year?

in daylights
What I do with daylight time has changed immensely over the year. I went from full-time nanny to chiropractic assistant and will soon change to teacher. I spend more daylight reading and exercising outside than I think I ever have (post-school).

in sunsets
No special sunsets to record here. :) Though I did spend many nights watching the sun set in Oxnard or Santa Monica alongside dear friends.

in midnights
The last midnight I saw was a couple of weeks ago during a high school ministry sleepover. Though my eyes were drooping and my body was begging for rest, I cherish those wee morning hours and moments of ministry. Fortunately, since graduating from college, I have not seen ver many midnights.

in cups of coffee
Ahh. Coffee is a comfort drink for me. I could not even begin to guess at how many good conversations I've had this past year over a cup or two of coffee. Or having coffee be the grand finale to a pleasant night with friends. Or just before a Perspectives class (on purpose). Can a year be measured in cups of coffee? Perhaps. [Side note: I have learned that caffeine dries out the mucus sacs on the vocal chords, causing stress to the chords. That's a bummer.]

in inches
My stacks of books read has grown in inches. And much to my dismay, so has my "to read in the future" stack. The more significant books read this year were: East of Eden by Steinbeck, a biography on Oswald Chambers and of course the Holy Bible.

in miles
I did not travel much this past year (comparatively so). The most miles I racked up were between home and home. Los Angeles to Sacramento and back again. I continue to live 350 miles from my family.

in laughter
What would we do without laughter?! Laughter is definitely a blessing of our most sovereign Lord. Though no funny moments come leaping to mind, laughter is definitely a good way to measure a year. I hope I laughed a lot this year.

in strife
Man, this year did hold a lot of strife. We can take strife two ways. One way is to grow bitter at the people and circumstances in the midst of your strife. Another way is to see it as an opportunity to draw that much nearer to the Lord. Most of the strife I endured had to do with jobs (mainly--ok ONLY--nannying) and with wanting to be on the mission field right now.

journeys to plan
When I think of journey, I think of a looooooong time. No sweet road trip with buddies or a couple weeks here or there. If you're on a journey, you're in it for the long haul. The good, the bad and the ugly. There is one journey in particular that I have been planning this past year, and the planning continues. In fact, these planning stages are a mere part of the journey. Knowing how to go about my convictions for wanting to be on the mission field full-time is QUITE the journey. Onward!

truths learned
Are you kidding? Let's start with the truths learned this week alone. What if we all kept a list of the truths we learn each day? Would our lists be long? I sure hope mine would be. I am constantly learning (and relearning) that truth is obtainable. There is such thing as 100% assurance, and that assurance comes from God. I think that a big truth I learned this year is how selfish I really am. It comes up in absolutely everything! Praise God that there is something out there bigger than me and my desires and agenda.

times cried
I admit that I'm a crier. Not often. But I do cry. In fact, I find crying a rather comforting habit. I cried when I broke my ankle and got a speeding ticket because I couldn't brake going down the hill. I cried when I made the decision to quit nannying, and I certainly cried the day I left that job. I cried when my parents left me yesterday morning. I cried at the movie The Boy in Striped Pajamas (as historically inaccurate as it may have been). I cried over high school students. I cried after visiting with the Hazen family during Christmas because it made me realize how much I miss NorCal. Now I'm making it sound like I cry all the time.

bridges burned
I certainly hope that there were no burned bridges in my life this year. I suppose that a year could be measured by the falling outs.

time [she] died
And, finally, I have known a few people to die this year. I was not exceptionally close to any of them, but death is the fine reminder of eternity. I will close with the following video that Becca sent to me. Click here to view the video of Rachel, a cancer victim, and her truthful words that "death is not dying."

Comments

Unknown said…
Your flipping list almost made me cry. Also the fact that you live precisely 393 miles away from me. That makes me want to cry.