The Beginning of the End of 2016

It is the beginning of the end of the year. As the year is wrapping up in these last few weeks, I am working on winding down. I love this time of year. 

 However, my head is full of reflective thoughts on what this year has been for me. I am an analyzer, likely to a fault some days, but at the same time, I've learned to embrace that about myself. Being that way helps me to dig deep and grow. Of course there are times I do not like what I see, but nonetheless, being that way helps me become a better version of me. And this year has been no different. 

 2016 has been a year full of new for me. This year has held events I never anticipated. I suppose over the next few weeks I will reflect and share. Of course, if you have "traveled" with me all year long on this blog, you will likely hear a few repeat stories. But that is where my head and heart are in my quiet moments. I've been reading some various pieces I wrote but never shared, and perhaps it's time those get "published" on here, too. So the next few weeks will have a variety of topics. 

 At the beginning of the year, I chose a word by which I wanted to define my year. I wasn't going to do that, but when a thought gets pressed upon me enough, I have learned to listen to it. The word I chose for 2016 was strong. You can read my blog from January here, where I first wrote about my ideas on the word. The word has come across my path in all new ways this year. I will be getting raw and real the next few weeks to share more details about how it exactly played out. As I did in the January blog, I'll work on breaking it down into topics to make it more manageable and not too wordy. (Who am I kidding? This is me we are talking about... )

 I think as I am reflecting on the year, I can now better understand why that word was in my head and heart. It's no coincidence. I think God had His plans with it all along. Only now can I step back and realize what some of those were. Of course at the beginning of the year, I had no idea how strong would play into my story. And so, the journey of sharing about the depths of this year begin. For today, I will say that many "new" things and people came to be part of my life, which have reshaped me to be a stronger, better version of me.

 This year I : traveled to another country, finally began my college schooling, experienced new races, met some incredible people, let go of others, learned new abilities that live within me, realized some old habits that needed shed, discovered TRX, implemented a new eating lifestyle and have begun the process of finding a new church home. It's been a big year for me, a marker in time. I found healing.  And I am excited to share in the next few weeks the lessons of 2016.