2008

Wow, 2008 has come and gone. "Oh how the years go by." Some memories remain burned in my mind from this past year.

This past year, we celebrated Easter at my house. Before the Easter meal, the entire family gather in the living room and sang, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." I'm not sure that there was a dry eye left in the room, as each of us, in our own personal and yet collective ways, contemplated our lives and our losses, our celebrations and our sorrows.

In July, a group from Horizon headed up to Vermont for a retreat. We spent a week living together. We traveled together, ate together, studied together, explored together, jumped together.

During the summer, Ben, Trent, and I took bike rides - long bike rides. I can still remember the anticipation that gripped me in the hours and even days before our rides. With the earlier rides, this anticipation included a bit of of anxiety and nervousness (translated, I don't think there is any way that I can do this). By the later rides, this morphed more into a sense of camaraderie and shared experience.

The fall included my first 5K (and 10K) runs ever. Something I fear is conforming so much to culture (translated, B-town), that I just simply go through the motions without even thinking. This running thing had all started months previously under the moonlight when I felt this nudge to pick up the walking pace and run. This seemed so crazy at the time and yet it has opened my eyes. I'm not exactly sure what I'm seeing yet, but my eyes are open(ing)

So what will 2009 bring. I really don't know. However, my hope is that the light of Jesus would begin to shine more visibly through me and into the world. My hope is that He would continue to defeat fears. My hope is to grow in love for others.