If I’m going to be completely honest, 2018 hasn’t been a great year for me. I'm not saying that the whole year was a disaster; there have been a few highlights in the mix and I thank God for all that He has done for our small family.
I'm particularly grateful that my husband was able to leave his eight-to-five job and come work from home. This is something that we had been praying about for months, so when God gave us the go ahead (or rather when we finally took a step of faith and did what God wanted) our hearts experienced so much peace.
I'm also grateful for the album that we were able to release just a few weeks ago. It was an interesting couple of weeks leading up to the launch, but the grace of God pulled us through and on November 30th we released our second album, Hope.
Even though we managed to tick a few things off of our to do lists this year, there were also a lot of disappointments that we experienced.
There are some health issues I’ve had to overcome over the past couple of months. Don’t worry, it hasn’t been anything too serious or life threatening but there were nights when my husband would just sit with me in my frustration as I questioned why I was constantly catching one ailment after another.
There was also the burden of feeling like I was putting in a lot of effort into my work, yet I couldn't see any results. I had to deal with the concept of 'being good enough’. Was I good enough to do what God told me to do? I knew the answer in theory, but when I was constantly met with rejection and disappointment, I started to think that maybe I don't have what it takes. In this season, I had to not only consciously remind myself of God's Word, but I had to choose to believe it. I had to cast out doubt and trust that God would not put me to shame.
I don’t want to go into the details of my low moments in 2018, then we might be here a while 😅.
However, if you are feeling disheartened and you need some encouragement you can check out my previous posts; How to Handle Doubt when you don’t yet see the manifestation of God’s promises and Hang in There as an encouragement to just keep on keeping on when you are feeling overwhelmed.
If I were to grade this year based on what has happened, I would give it an average score. No more than 60%. However, if I were to grade it based on who I have become in the past twelve months, the year would get a distinction.
Through the hard times of this year, I have become a better and stronger person. The Word of God is alive and I have learnt that if you let Him, He can change you into someone you never thought you could be. Again, I knew this in theory, but it took me having to go through difficult and unpleasant situations in order for me to allow God to mould me. The Word of God can turn the weak into the strong. It can convert the fainthearted into people deeply rooted in faith.
The Word of God has changed me for the better this year, and for that I am eternally grateful.
I don’t believe that God makes us sick or that he brings evil upon us. What I do believe is that He can allow our circumstances to be catalysts in our journey to being more of who we are destined to be. I would like to encourage you, if you haven’t allowed Him yet, allow Him in this coming year to handle your character when you go through the furnaces of life. There is nothing like coming out of the fire as a refined vessel, ready for honourable use in the hands of the One who formed you.
God is faithful. He will not allow you to break in his hands. He knows your purpose and his moulding is only to make you who you are destined to be. So, with the new year just a few days ahead, let us resolve to trusting Him with the job of making us more and more into the image of His Son.