So many ideas today for this message but I keep coming back to the song I heard this morning at church…Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin.I had this song on repeat back in 2015 and I used it for my year end video. I looked back at that video tonight and I was amazed at everything I did that year and how far I have come in my journey since then. It triggered some really good and some not so good memories.
If you know me, you know that I tend to take a lot of pictures. I do this mainly so I can remember because my memory is HORRIBLE. I seriously have nearly 19,000 pics on my phone at the moment to look back on. But looking back at the video of my 2015 highlights I remembered that I had a lot of regular days just hanging out with my cats, my dad, or with friends. I moved twice that year and I remember dealing with some severe depression at times…curled up on the tile floor in my new place barely functioning. But I also did some really cool and amazing things and felt tremendous joy at times. I deleted my Facebook account and went cold turkey which was totally an accident but probably the best thing I could have done at that time. I became a full fledged pescatarian and stopped eating meat. I took a 12 day road trip alone to North Carolina, Delaware, and Pennsylvania where I pitched my first book proposal at She Speaks and met Lysa Terkeurst, camped under the stars in the OBX, visited my German friend from college I hadn’t spent time with in years, and spent time with family at my niece’s wedding. I did a lot in 12 days! That year I also saw my favorite author Liz Gilbert speak in Nashville and later I won her Instagram photo contest and received an autographed copy of her latest book. I FINALLY sold the travel trailer leftover from my divorce. Wooooooo!!! And in December my family came to visit from PA and we took my dad out to the movies for his 80th birthday. That was such a special day!
So much has changed since then but in a way so much has stayed the same. I am looking forward to creating a new video at the end of 2017. Sometimes I feel like nothing important is happening in my life but when I look back at my memories, it is ALL important.
Push play and listen to these words. You can view my photos or close your eyes and remember what your life looked like two years ago. It probably looks nothing like mine did. And it likely looks nothing like it does today. You might be better off or you might be worse…but there is a purpose for all of it. You are loved and He knows exactly what you need.
He IS a good good Father!
Blessings,
Stacey ~ iamalive