Nostalgia

2015

For most of 2015, I was a very broken girl. I had taken this picture on the first day of senior year of high school, and I remember thinking it made me look so beautiful. But behind that smile and under layers of editing, make-up, and positioning myself in front of a fan, I was sorrowful inside. I needed Jesus back.

2016

At the end of 2015 and into 2016, I began investing in my friendships with life-giving, godly people.

2016

I was healing from past hurts, and I was able to form new relationships.

2016

It was the encouragement of these new friends that helped me see God’s beautiful picture of what it means to be in community with Him and with each other.

2017

Before I knew it, I was filled with the joy of the Lord. Look how different that smile is from the first picture. It’s all thanks to Jesus.

2017

The doors were opened to new and unexpected opportunities.

2018

No matter what, in the good times and the bad, my friends have been here to encourage me and make me laugh.

2018

It’s crazy to think that after all this time, we are still as close, if not closer than when we met.

2019

To be honest, 2019 has been one of the more difficult years of my life. There have been a lot of changes, particularly as I have moved 3 times in the last 18 months. Yet, God has remained faithful.

2019

He’s used these lovely friends of mine to keep pushing me on toward the goal of living for Christ alone, even when things get difficult.

2019

Even when I wasn’t looking, God was still working through me to be an encouragement and support to my friends, as well.

2019

So here’s to making more memories that make us smile. Here’s to a future filled with the abundant joy of Christ Jesus, our King.

Here’s to making more memories that make us make this face.

Here’s to the memories, the good and the bad, to leaning into Jesus through every season, to my friends and family who have been such an encouragement to me, and to making new memories. 2020, I can’t wait to see what joys you hold in store. I’m ready.

Click the arrows to scroll through my story over the last 4 years. (If you are reading this on your phone, you may not be able to see the captions. In this case, please see the post on my Instagram.)

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I originally wrote this poem as a song back in 2016, and I completed it at the end of this year. It seems to express my feelings well as we close out not only the year 2019, but also the last decade.

Time like sand slipped through my fingertips

and danced upon my skin like sun rays gold.

Memories ran down my cheeks

reminding me of times of old.

The way the past seems to melt into tomorrow—

a tapestry formed from happiness and sorrow.

It well may be that as time flies,

it’s time for me to wave goodbye,

so in my memories I won’t drown,

but in Christ’s love, instead, be found.

The hands of time were gently interlaced with mine.

I made this moment my new home;

but as time flies, I find that I abide

in years to come and years ago.

I dream of days marked by purity and innocence,

and in a sense, I know those days are not all gone.

And though I stumbled in the past,

I know those days weren’t meant to last.

But rooted in Christ's steadfast love

I smile and laugh at days to come.