A New Year means....

..new beginnings. I've held off writing a post because I honestly didn't know what to write. As I look back over the past year, I see heart-ache mostly. And some unfulfilled dreams. But, I also see new friendships, friendships that have blossomed, and new life chapters opening. One big chapter is titled "Being Honest".

I'll be completely honest: this year has been tough. One of the siblings I was closest to moved out after Christmas of 2013. And it wasn't a happy move. Deception and lies were a big part of it. We tried talking to them, others tried talking to them; they are stuck in sin and can't see it. Prayers would be (and are) coveted. That has been my family's main struggle this year.

Now, on to happier reflections:

I was part of a wedding:
My dear friend Corrie in Texas got married in October, and I flew out to be one of her bridesmaids. Corrie and I have been friends for 10+ years, and I was honored to be a part of her big day.

New and deeper friendships:
This year, God has given me wonderful church friends. Ashley and Katie have become dear friends to Miranda and I. I also met Morgan and her family, who are now attending church with us.

(I found this picture taken a LONG time ago when we first met Katie and Ashley's family at a GHEA conference. Who knew we would be attending the same church 3 years later?)

Unfulfilled dreams:
I have had to come to terms with the fact that God will bring my future husband to me in His own time. I can do nothing to speed up the process. Besides the above struggle, this is what I have prayed most about in the past year. As I watch friends become engaged and married, I often wonder when it will be my turn. I had head-knowledge that God's timing is not my own, but it has only been in the past few months that it has become heart-knowledge. I can now honestly say that I am content to wait on God's timing, while also attending to the work He has given me for now - being the oldest daughter and sister in the family God has placed me in. And, that is PLENTY of work in of itself. With 11 people in the house, something is always going on.

A New Year:
This year, I'm trusting God with my future, hopes, and dreams. I'm done trying to juggle the spinning plates and tops (to borrow one of my mom's expressions). I'm turning the reins over to the best Driver there is - my Heavenly Father. And that is strangely.....freeing. I don't wake up in the mornings wondering about the day's events ahead, or the worry that I might never marry and raise my own family ( I won't bore you with the countless stories of well-meaning relations who've asked me, or my parents, if I'll ever get hitched).

What does this New Year hold for you? Can't wait to see where The Driver takes us!!!

Katelyn