Sing All Night

Well. 

Well, well, well.

I'm just gonna be stereotypical and say "Another year has come and gone..."  I guess the reason I'm ok saying it is because it's true.  2012 whizzed past me so fast, and yet it was jam-packed with so much growth on my own part.  I think the best part of growing up is learning more about yourself and why you are the way you are, and 2012 gave me a huge dose of reality in that area.  Of "let me spell out very plainly why you are Allison, how you got to where you are today."  So. many. freaking. times.  Honestly, sometimes I just wanted to sit down and have a chat with my computer, "Ok, stop reading my mind.  Stop putting these articles in front of my nose that are so blatantly obviously for me".  But I knew that ultimately, those articles, blog posts, and songs came from God.  They were his gift to me.

This year, I learned how beneficial friendships are.  Friendships with men and women of God, with people who build me up and who I can build up.  With sisters, brothers, mentors, bloggers, fellow ministers, new acquaintances, priests, seminarians, saints, and most importantly, God.

Each month in 2012 brought its own growth in my life.  I was brought to realizations of my need for other people.  To a conviction to go on a life-changing journey.  I was shown what I could handle physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  I learned that friendships can most certainly be maintained across state and country borders, and that family ties aren’t always forged with a blood relationship.  I discovered that a friend-turned-sister can be one of the greatest blessings in the world, and my reverence for the Eucharist was strengthened.

Through all of this I was forced to push my boundaries, exceed my limits.  Do things that I didn’t think I was going to be able to accomplish.  I was brought to difficulty after difficulty and was asked to conquer.  I just kept pushing, praying, and waiting for answers.  God never fails to provide, and I say with certainty that He provided all I needed this year.

I have some regrets from this past year.  I think everyone does, looking back.  But I can’t continue looking behind me.  I must push on and hope and pray that I succeed in the months to come where I have come up short in the months that have passed.

The beginning of a new year is a time to look forward.  The future is always unknown, and 2013 brings with it a new round of new experiences.  I will be going places, both physically and internally, that I’ve never gone before.  I’ll be placed in situations that will once again force me to trust.

Trust.

It seems to be a recurring theme.

May 2013 be a year of renewal, of finding myself, of new experiences with new and old friends, and of answered prayer.