Personal Top 10 Moments of 2009

I don't think I've ever done something like this before. I don't think I've ever cared about the New Year before.

For some reason I feel excited by the prospect of looking backward and looking forward today.

Maybe it's because I feel life coursing through my veins.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a new year, because I am looking forward to life.

So, before we move forward, let us look back:

10. January 1, 2009 - The morning after. The longest morning of my life, and every bit of it delightful. Endless pots of coffee, food from the night before, good conversation, etc. I'll mark that morning as the beginning of Steph and I's friendship. This day seems to encapsulate what Berlin was to me.

9. There was a Sunday this summer that was just glorious. We all went to church together, sat on the bluff over Lake Michigan, went to Starbucks to read, played some sort of game in the evening. It was just lovely. OR Apple Picking - which I originally refrained from commenting on as I had a lot from my time in Boston already. BUT - Apple Picking was heaven to me. It really was. Everything about that day was perfect. The company, the weather, the world. Really. Everything. I tasted heaven.

8. When I asked Caitlin where she went to undergrad and she said, "Wheaton." It was clear to me the first time I met her that she would be a dear friend to me. It has proven to be true.

7. Meeting Benjamin Daniel Stewart. Realizing everything had changed. That we were all adults, or at least trying to be. That new life was abounding. Holding the little man in my arms was just precious. This day also coincided with my return to Waco and loved one's I had dearly missed.

6. Brunch with Ryan and Steph in East Boston. Lingering. Drinking coffee. Not caring that everything took forever. Going to the harbor, seeing autumn against the ocean, observing Boston from another angle. Realizing I felt home.

5. January 3, 2009, meeting Liz, and finally beginning to explore photography. I have always loved photography. I had purchased a camera for this very purpose, and failed to execute. I am thankful for blip, which gives me an outlet and reason to take photos.

4. Driving to Boston. With layers and layers of anxiety. Building up and peeling away simultaneously as I neared the city. Terrified of this move, yet knowing I had to leave Chicago, that I needed a fresh city, a new life. Desperate to not be who I had been, excited to pursue further studies.

3. The first Sunday of Advent 2009 - and also, coincidentally, the start of the liturgical year. I don't know the last time I've been so emotionally stirred by music than listening to "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" with the cello that Sunday. This moment also because I have been blessed with a church in Boston. One where I feel known, and safe, and encouraged, and challenged.

2. January 19, 2009 - The day I realized that I was alive again. The day the dark, cold, scary winter passed from my heart. And spring burst forth with unparalleled vigor. Every day for the next four months was the best day of my life. The day I saw in my own life and knew that all things are being redeemed.

1. Opening the email that said I was awarded the teaching fellowship for next year. And suddenly realizing that things were falling into place. That God was ever faithful to me. That he had been faithful all along. That my leap of faith was graced. Understanding I could do this. Realizing it was not all in vain. And looking forward to the opportunity I've been dreaming of...since...forever. To teach.

Cheers to 2010 and our future endeavors.