Happy
New Year!
Better late than
never…
As I forge into a
new year, I’ve tried to take a minute to look back at 2012. I’m actually going
through Unravelling 2013 by Susannah Conway as recommended by a visiting pastor
to NewSong, Chris Seay. Check out that HERE to find out more or do it along
with me!
Lately, I’ve been
into having a theme for each year. Well, it actually started last year when the
word REDEMPTION came to mind and then I watched that word play out day to day
and month to month right up until the end of the year.
What were the
highlights of 2012 for me?
First of all, I
made a conscious decision to start the prep process for a future adoption. I
knew that the time was now. I chose to both starting saving money and begin
building a community through recycling. Redemption really became visible to me during this project idea. Sometimes, I cannot believe how friends
stepped up to join forces with me for “Shorty.” I think Shorty may be the most
loved “unmet” child ever. I’ve had strangers donate money, friends
inconvenience themselves to save recycling and get it to me, and family members
continuously send money to deposit. Shorty has $2094. I’m still diligently
recycling and saving so keep on keeping on! Thank you for your continued support! See, drinking sodas
and beers [preferably from cans] is less guilty knowing that the container will
go toward a good cause, right?!?!
I am thankful for the many new friends
that came into my life through book club and Mom’s ministry at NewSong. I also began
a group called Eden that includes ~10 other fabulous women leaders. We meet
monthly and I learn more in that 2 hour block than I ever anticipate.
I’m continuing on
with my BCBA training. I have 2 more graduate level classes under my belt and
~400 clinical hours. It has been exhausting juggling work, working an extra day to
get extra $ and hours, cramming online work into the weekends, and then
reserving Sunday for a true Sabbath / week prep evening.
In February, I
conquered uncharted wine territory with my favorite wino friend Tom. We hit
Edna Valley in central California. We have tasted together in Napa, Temecula,
Paso Robles, Santa Ynez, and now Edna Valley. We are so ready to take this
thing internationally.
I went to my yearly
women’s conference called GodChicks in June. I think this is time #5. Every
year, I sign up for the following year and wait excitedly for the time to come. I LOVE this conference and cannot recommend it enough if “church” is your
thing. It’s hip, cool, fun, and mind-blowing. It has to be for me to go because
I do not love large groups of women on the weekends….
I finally visited Chicago. It has been on my "to visit" list for years. I met a friend there, Jody, and fell in love with this place. I went on a food tour, architecture boat cruise, to the art museum, the "Bean," and had Chicago style pizza and hot dogs.
I took two trips
home to Mississippi in August and December, and I traveled to St. Louis for an
early Thanksgiving before heading to South Africa.
South Africa…..last
but certainly not the least.
This was my 6th
time/consecutive year to travel to South Africa. My support community did it
again. We raised almost $2000 to donate directly to the organization that I serve
(Monte Christo Miqlat), the autism school (Boland), and a few other on-the-spot
projects that popped up. My friend Candice came for one of the weeks I was
there, and it was exciting to share another one of my “home away from homes”
with her. We served, wine tasted, ate, sweated, safari-ed, and Table Mountain-ed.
I had a theme for
the year, but as the year closes, I could sum up how I felt at any given time
in one word as well: OVERWHELMED. I, at any time, was overwhelmed with feelings
of exhaustion, joy, gratitude, loneliness, confusion, and love.
Before I left for
South Africa, the theme for 2013 popped into my head early: STORYTELLING. I was
not sure of any details or the origin but glimpses began to come to me as I prepared
a message to share with a congregation in South Africa. During the trip and by the
end of December, I knew exactly the significance and confirmation of this
theme. I can’t reveal of all the details
yet, but I do see a future of storytelling that began way before 2013, but 2013
will be the catalyst. Can. Not. Wait. Tease, right?
As the year
wrapped, I can see how all of the feelings and events intertwine like the image
when one looks through a kaleidoscope. A kaleidoscope is a cylinder with mirrors containing
loose beads and bits and pieces of glass. As the viewer looks into the end,
light enters creating a pattern due to the reflection off the mirrors.
For me, I look back
at the bits and pieces of feelings, events, pains, and celebrations that lie
contained. When His light enters, I see how they reflect to make a beautiful
picture, a unique picture of my story.
Thankful for the
pain as much as the happiness. Thankful for redemption.
Come on 2013, let’s
do this!
Love,
Danielle
