2019!
What a year it has been! 2019 has been filled with an innumerable amount of blessings and lessons and as I sit here and reflect on the past twelve months, I can honestly say they have been some of my favorites of all time. One of my favorite ways to praise God is to reflect on His faithfulness, so I'm composing a flyover recap of 2019...mostly for my own sake, and yours too if you're bored.
January: The year kicked off with a cinematic airport scene of me tossing my bags behind me and running into the arms of Maggie Theaker, my best friend who had been studying abroad in Ireland. We picked our bags right back up and boarded a plane to Belize with sixteen of my other best friends. The month was filled with laughter, deep conversations, sharing books, playing with children, teaching grammar, and exploring God's creation. I graded sentence diagrams and snorkeled, climbed ancient ruins and taught adjectives. God made it clear that I am meant to be a teacher, and this confirmation led to the most joy-filled excursion of a lifetime. He also brought humbling moments and learning opportunities, made me aware of my pride and cancerous autonomy, and held me in his comforting arms when harsh words were spoken about me.
February: I returned from Belize and moved into a new dorm with a new roommate. It was one of Indiana's harshest winters and we skated the sidewalks in desperate efforts to remain upright. I began waking up every day at 5am with Piper Nicholson to workout. We started training for lacrosse despite icy temperatures and snow-covered fields. I enjoyed reading American Literature under Dr. Nancy Dayton and sang the doxology with my friends every time a restaurant offered cheap deals. I went to bed before 9 almost every single night and learned the beauty of independence. I grew to love alone time in the comfort of my quiet dorm room and looked forward to spending Saturdays alone, writing poetry and reading American Lit.
March: Lauren Murphy and I decided to audition for Airband Emcees, our school-wide lip sync battle. We spend many nights writing our script and rehearsing, laughing over the boldness that ensued once we committed to "a year of yes." I suffered through Intro to Biology and traveled all across the midwest playing lacrosse with some of my closest friends. I discovered I was a miniature clone of my coach, Addie Wadley, and enjoyed rock climbing and feasting at Waffle House with her and the team. Eight of my best girlfriends and I trekked to South Carolina for the coldest yet craziest spring break of all time, which ended with tons of memories, the ability to prepare meals, deeper friendships, and a pierced bellybutton.
April: It was April when I decided that my lone aspiration in life was to be the first person to step inside the Gas City Cracker Barrel. My friends and I woke up at 5 in the morning and anxiously waited in the parking lot, only to find that a truck driver caravan had beaten us there. We attempted this feat twice more and on the third time, we found ourselves alone: we were the first people to arrive at Cracker Barrel. I played a lot of Spikeball with my loyal partner, Maggie Anderson, and traveled back to Crawfordsville with her to watch a Wabash Baseball game. Lacrosse season ended with a series of victories and by the grace of God, I finally scored a goal.
May: My bosses at the Taylor Admission's office, Scott Oleson and Nate Chu, challenged me to compete in Murph - the brutal CrossFit workout which entails 300 squats, 200 pushups, and 100 pull-ups sandwiched between two miles. I begrudgingly agreed and Lauren Murphy and I sang In Christ Alone as we crawled to the finish line. Finals week concluded, Mike Pence spoke at graduation, I packed up my room in Olson Hall and set out for a sweet sweet summer. My dad turned 50 and we celebrated with steaks. I began my summer internship at Rock Point Church where I would be serving as a youth ministry intern. I had no idea at the time what a life-changing experience this would be.
June: June was full of summer soak parties, bible studies, discipleship, and growth. I looked forward to Monday afternoons when interns got to ask the pastors questions about all walks of life - from politics to the Bible to marriage and more. I had meetings that taught me about Calvinism and Arminianism and church discipline and forgiveness and being a Christian woman in the world, and I got to lead a high school Bible study at my home church and God worked in the lives of students in ways I never thought possible. I also was pierced by incredibly harsh and degrading words which caused me to reflect on the way I have treated people and commit to a fresh start.
July: I slept through the fourth of July firework show because Maggie Anderson and I woke up at 6am to ski on Lake Geneva. We played like we were kids again and waved at cute boys on the dock and enjoyed the most relaxing getaway in Wisconsin. I had made a hobby out of CrossFit and woke up at 5:00 every morning to push my body to new limits. I learned rope climbs and power snatches and watched my body become stronger than ever before. My family vacationed in Florida, got separated at the airport, lost Dad and Christen in Atlanta, and spent nights beside the moonlit sea singing worship songs with my four built-in best friends.
August: The internship at Rock Point concluded with ice cream cake and many good memories. Lilly Bushong surprised me by coming home from Minnesota two weeks early and we roller bladed almost every square mile of Crawfordsville. We began playing tennis and competed against two of our good friends, Michael and Alex. We beat them just a week before I left for school and it was the sweetest way to send off the summer. I moved into Taylor on (yet another) new wing: Third West Olson, which brought the deepest, freshest friendships and most wonderful reunions of all time.
September: This was a month of soccer games, road trips, late night Wendy's runs, and Taylor traditions. In all honesty, September became a blur of studying Historic, developing a passion for learning theology, coffee dates, worship nights, and bike rides. Catching up with Taylor friends never felt so sweet and I began meeting for weekly prayer lunches with Reyna Williams and found such a secure friend in her. God provided the opportunity to emcee Taylor's giant bike race and I found my fit screaming hourly bike vocabulary words.
October: In true October fashion, my friends and I enjoyed football games, bonfires, apple orchards, and the beauty of Indiana falls. Four of us ventured to Kansas City, Kansas to get lost in the Kansas City Barbecue sauce and play corn hole against Alex Francis' dad. The trip was one of much-needed rest and recuperation before the madness of midterms set in. It was a time of learning to be content in singleness and excited about the discipleship opportunities that came with not having a boyfriend, which is counter-cultural at a Christian school during cuffing season.
November: It was my twenty-first November and we celebrated at my roommate's grandma's house with good friends around an open fire. I ate three hot dogs and went to bed at ten, so I really couldn't have asked for a better way to turn twenty-one. It snowed like crazy and I started spending lots of time with Morgan Benson, a friend who keeps me grounded and reminds me what it looks like to be completely satisfied in Christ. Thirteen of my closest friends and I found $14 flights to Florida, so we skipped a couple of classes and spent a long weekend seaside. In this moment, God taught me how he delights in giving gifts to his children.
December: December was a month of insanity - Christmas open houses, Silent Night, Christmas Morning, final pick-a-dates, finals prep, Dead Week, and desperately trying to hang out with as many people as possible before leaving for break. It was a month of Waffle House runs and mnemonic devices to remember the basic tenants of Pauline ecclesiology during finals week. Then home brought a mandated stillness, time to sleep in, the man of my dreams, belly laughs, good food, days with grandparents, and much needed rest.
I am thankful. I loved this year. 2020 is just the flip of a calendar, but I really cannot wait to see what God has in store!
January: The year kicked off with a cinematic airport scene of me tossing my bags behind me and running into the arms of Maggie Theaker, my best friend who had been studying abroad in Ireland. We picked our bags right back up and boarded a plane to Belize with sixteen of my other best friends. The month was filled with laughter, deep conversations, sharing books, playing with children, teaching grammar, and exploring God's creation. I graded sentence diagrams and snorkeled, climbed ancient ruins and taught adjectives. God made it clear that I am meant to be a teacher, and this confirmation led to the most joy-filled excursion of a lifetime. He also brought humbling moments and learning opportunities, made me aware of my pride and cancerous autonomy, and held me in his comforting arms when harsh words were spoken about me.
February: I returned from Belize and moved into a new dorm with a new roommate. It was one of Indiana's harshest winters and we skated the sidewalks in desperate efforts to remain upright. I began waking up every day at 5am with Piper Nicholson to workout. We started training for lacrosse despite icy temperatures and snow-covered fields. I enjoyed reading American Literature under Dr. Nancy Dayton and sang the doxology with my friends every time a restaurant offered cheap deals. I went to bed before 9 almost every single night and learned the beauty of independence. I grew to love alone time in the comfort of my quiet dorm room and looked forward to spending Saturdays alone, writing poetry and reading American Lit.
March: Lauren Murphy and I decided to audition for Airband Emcees, our school-wide lip sync battle. We spend many nights writing our script and rehearsing, laughing over the boldness that ensued once we committed to "a year of yes." I suffered through Intro to Biology and traveled all across the midwest playing lacrosse with some of my closest friends. I discovered I was a miniature clone of my coach, Addie Wadley, and enjoyed rock climbing and feasting at Waffle House with her and the team. Eight of my best girlfriends and I trekked to South Carolina for the coldest yet craziest spring break of all time, which ended with tons of memories, the ability to prepare meals, deeper friendships, and a pierced bellybutton.
April: It was April when I decided that my lone aspiration in life was to be the first person to step inside the Gas City Cracker Barrel. My friends and I woke up at 5 in the morning and anxiously waited in the parking lot, only to find that a truck driver caravan had beaten us there. We attempted this feat twice more and on the third time, we found ourselves alone: we were the first people to arrive at Cracker Barrel. I played a lot of Spikeball with my loyal partner, Maggie Anderson, and traveled back to Crawfordsville with her to watch a Wabash Baseball game. Lacrosse season ended with a series of victories and by the grace of God, I finally scored a goal.
May: My bosses at the Taylor Admission's office, Scott Oleson and Nate Chu, challenged me to compete in Murph - the brutal CrossFit workout which entails 300 squats, 200 pushups, and 100 pull-ups sandwiched between two miles. I begrudgingly agreed and Lauren Murphy and I sang In Christ Alone as we crawled to the finish line. Finals week concluded, Mike Pence spoke at graduation, I packed up my room in Olson Hall and set out for a sweet sweet summer. My dad turned 50 and we celebrated with steaks. I began my summer internship at Rock Point Church where I would be serving as a youth ministry intern. I had no idea at the time what a life-changing experience this would be.
June: June was full of summer soak parties, bible studies, discipleship, and growth. I looked forward to Monday afternoons when interns got to ask the pastors questions about all walks of life - from politics to the Bible to marriage and more. I had meetings that taught me about Calvinism and Arminianism and church discipline and forgiveness and being a Christian woman in the world, and I got to lead a high school Bible study at my home church and God worked in the lives of students in ways I never thought possible. I also was pierced by incredibly harsh and degrading words which caused me to reflect on the way I have treated people and commit to a fresh start.
July: I slept through the fourth of July firework show because Maggie Anderson and I woke up at 6am to ski on Lake Geneva. We played like we were kids again and waved at cute boys on the dock and enjoyed the most relaxing getaway in Wisconsin. I had made a hobby out of CrossFit and woke up at 5:00 every morning to push my body to new limits. I learned rope climbs and power snatches and watched my body become stronger than ever before. My family vacationed in Florida, got separated at the airport, lost Dad and Christen in Atlanta, and spent nights beside the moonlit sea singing worship songs with my four built-in best friends.
August: The internship at Rock Point concluded with ice cream cake and many good memories. Lilly Bushong surprised me by coming home from Minnesota two weeks early and we roller bladed almost every square mile of Crawfordsville. We began playing tennis and competed against two of our good friends, Michael and Alex. We beat them just a week before I left for school and it was the sweetest way to send off the summer. I moved into Taylor on (yet another) new wing: Third West Olson, which brought the deepest, freshest friendships and most wonderful reunions of all time.
September: This was a month of soccer games, road trips, late night Wendy's runs, and Taylor traditions. In all honesty, September became a blur of studying Historic, developing a passion for learning theology, coffee dates, worship nights, and bike rides. Catching up with Taylor friends never felt so sweet and I began meeting for weekly prayer lunches with Reyna Williams and found such a secure friend in her. God provided the opportunity to emcee Taylor's giant bike race and I found my fit screaming hourly bike vocabulary words.
October: In true October fashion, my friends and I enjoyed football games, bonfires, apple orchards, and the beauty of Indiana falls. Four of us ventured to Kansas City, Kansas to get lost in the Kansas City Barbecue sauce and play corn hole against Alex Francis' dad. The trip was one of much-needed rest and recuperation before the madness of midterms set in. It was a time of learning to be content in singleness and excited about the discipleship opportunities that came with not having a boyfriend, which is counter-cultural at a Christian school during cuffing season.
November: It was my twenty-first November and we celebrated at my roommate's grandma's house with good friends around an open fire. I ate three hot dogs and went to bed at ten, so I really couldn't have asked for a better way to turn twenty-one. It snowed like crazy and I started spending lots of time with Morgan Benson, a friend who keeps me grounded and reminds me what it looks like to be completely satisfied in Christ. Thirteen of my closest friends and I found $14 flights to Florida, so we skipped a couple of classes and spent a long weekend seaside. In this moment, God taught me how he delights in giving gifts to his children.
December: December was a month of insanity - Christmas open houses, Silent Night, Christmas Morning, final pick-a-dates, finals prep, Dead Week, and desperately trying to hang out with as many people as possible before leaving for break. It was a month of Waffle House runs and mnemonic devices to remember the basic tenants of Pauline ecclesiology during finals week. Then home brought a mandated stillness, time to sleep in, the man of my dreams, belly laughs, good food, days with grandparents, and much needed rest.
I am thankful. I loved this year. 2020 is just the flip of a calendar, but I really cannot wait to see what God has in store!