on what i've learned...

as this STINT year is coming to a close {the short-term project has come and gone and our fellow teammates, nick and trevor, are heading back to canada on tuesday} i've been pondering and mulling over the things i've learned over this past year.
one thing in particular is actually all-encompassing and i've described in so many different ways.

giving thanks.
finding joy.
seeking beauty in the every day. in the mundane. 
splashes of glory.


i took a facebook hiatus from about october to sometime in february. it was so good for me and my soul and it really helped me become more confident in who i am apart from the praise of man, which is so easily found on facebook. or the interwebs in general.

how many likes did that status get?
look at all those comments on that cute picture of my boys!
that blog entry got so many page views!
what a great tweet by me. so many people retweeted it!


i took a step back and am learning to embrace who i am apart from everyone else. who God has fearfully and wonderfully made me to be. and to STOP comparing myself to everyone else.
and even though i'm back on facebook, i'm feel so much more aware of what i post. the words i choose. am i being salt and light? am i encouraging those who happen to see my statuses or am i merely looking for an outlet to boast or complain or seek justification? i'm definitely not seeking to present a false image of who i am. i am not happy all the time. i don't gush with love and patience and joy in every moment. i am not perfect. but i am aware of the fact that social media can be used for good and not just fill a void. or become an obsession.

and so these things that i've been learning over this past year. i want to share. to show that life is not easy. it is hard. and filled with challenges. but we have a choice. to choose joy. to choose our words so that they drip with life-giving encouragement instead of bitterness, grumbling and complaint.

the other day i was reading Abide in Christ by andrew murray and he spoke about how we are the branches and Christ is the vine. how all we need to do to abide in Christ is come to Him as we first came. in faith. trusting in the strength and life and love of the Saviour {our true vine} to do everything that he has promised He will do {help us to love, trust, abide, find joy and love others}. and that includes helping us to see the beauty in the mundane when everything around us is begging for negativity.

these days i've been struggling to love someone. i think we all have a person we struggle to love, at least at some point in our lives. part of me feels justified in this difficulty but i am praying for love because i know it's not going to come from anything within me. it's just not. so i'm praying and i'm trusting in my True Vine to come through and provide.

so i'm still learning. and growing. and it's good. HE is very, very good.