Great is His Faithfulness

How am I to summarize, learn from, apply, or be appropriately thankful for all that has happened to me this year?  How do I best put into words and describe how utterly different I am today, how vastly different of a person I am from a year ago?  How do I give God all the glory that is His due?

Adequate words escape me.

Looking back on a year ago from today, these are the things that constituted my circumstances:

I was frustrated with my life, not really having any direction, yet not wanting to change anything.  The fear of the unknown had reached its zenith.  

I was getting ready to leave the safety and familiarity of home to try out something new for the semester, and quite frankly, I wasn't looking forward to it.  

The depression of my high school years had continued on through my first year of college, making me highly apathetic and unmotivated in everything.  I even turned myself into a victim, letting everything bring me down.  I threw the encouragement of the people around me right back at them with a "thanks, but no thanks" mentality.

A year ago from today, I was hanging onto unhealthy attitudes and ways of thinking because they were the things I knew and was familiar with, even though I knew they needed to change.

Today, looking back, I clearly see how God turned my life around.  Where a year ago I was spiritually dry and spent, today, I am full!  Where a year ago I was drowning in self-pity, today I pray for God's help in having a better attitude and outlook on life.  Where a year ago I was apathetic, not caring about anything anymore, today I am filled with joy!  Where a year ago I was lacking in motivation and purpose, today I have hope for tomorrow.

God has shown His faithfulness towards me yet again throughout this year.  He is so good, and I am utterly thankful for His kindness in allowing me to learn and grow like never before throughout this year.

I know myself, and I know what I was 1 short year ago.  I'm here to tell you that I stand before you now a changed daughter of the King, having a clearer understanding of who my Father is.  I pray that 2013 will continue my growing period and that at the end of next year, I'll be able to tell you that I'm a completely different person then than I am today, having an even clearer understanding of my Father.

Here's to a year of growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ!  

May you have a blessed New Year!

Creed

I am a part of the "Fellowship Unashamed."  The die has been cast.  I have stepped over the line.  The decision has been made.  I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.  I won't look back, back up slow down, back away, or be still.  My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.  I am finished and done with low living, sigh walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or prosperity.  I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.  My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.  I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.  I must go until Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all I know, and work until He comes.  And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.  My colors will be clear.

~Anonymous