Hello 21

Hey Beautiful!

20 was a hard year for you. It was all necessary but it didn’t make it all any easier.

20 taught you confidence, but like anyone knows, the journey to becoming confident always involves facing a lot of fears and insecurities. 20 saw you learning to put your value and identity in Christ, not in the people around you. Doing that was hard when it meant walking away from people you cared about. But it was worth it, because it taught you not to keep yourself small.

20 saw you change the course of your life in a way you never thought you would. You had your plan for the year ahead and you were wholeheartedly chasing it when God interrupted you. I know how hard those days were, when everything just felt meaningless and hopeless. I know how long those nights were, crying into your pillow because nothing was making sense. I know how much courage it took to finally open your mouth and tell them all what was in your heart. I know how hard it was when you finally felt you were heading in the direction God wanted, but you still had no peace. It didn’t make sense to put it all on hold, and yet, that’s what you needed to do.

20 saw you finally put together some pieces in the puzzle. Through all the confusion, you were willing to go where He asked. So when He told you ‘ywam’ – you went. And even that wasn’t easy at times. There were days you felt hurt by some of the people you trusted most, and days you didn’t feel like you fit in, but still God said ‘stay.’ He promised He had it all under control. And baby, thank God you stayed. Because the things that have come from that make every hard moment worth it.

You got to learn how deeply God loves you. You got to learn that He not only loves you, but He likes you. He likes being with you. You got to learn that He is a good Dad who delights in blessing His children, and you as His Child are part of that.

You got to make friends with people you never expected. You got to have conversations where people shared their heart with you, and let you share yours. You got to practice your gift of encouragement, and you got to be there for people right when they needed someone most. You got to use your hands practically to serve and to bless, and that alone made it worth it.

In your simple yes to God, He honoured that in ways you never would have imagined, He blessed you in ways you could never have guessed He would.

I guess you could say that 20 saw you fall head over heels in love with Jesus.

And now you’re here. 20 is almost over, and 21 is just around the corner.

You’re in a brand new season, pursuing your long held dream to be a midwife whilst feeling total peace with it finally. You’re serving and fully a part of community, being equally as blessed as you are a blessing. You’ve got amazing friends and family by your side who continue to love you through all the highs and lows, who continue to encourage and inspire you every single day. You’re in a brand new season where you can say with certainty it is well with your soul. Because if 20 taught you anything, it taught you that God is always present. It taught you that He has a plan, and He works out every detail in His Perfect Timing (and His timing is indeed perfect, as you can now see in hindsight).

21 is going to be amazing.

It’s a good life!