Changes Since This Time Last Year

Anna tagged me to blog on this subject, so why not?

It seems like last year at this time was so far away (yet so close). So much has happened since then, but I have done so little. This year has been defined, not by my actions, but by the action of God in my life. These changes have happened so often that it has started to make me feel a little bit less independent and more dependent on my Lord. That's the first good thing which has happened in my life.

God brought me to a job on campus - a blessing in itself. Though there were battles to be fought along the way (including thinking I wouldn't be able to work there as I am not classified as a resident of Colorado), I feel like I have grown in responsibility and knowledge of how to work with others. Many of the people I work with are not Christians, and learning how to interact with and minister to them is the second great change which has taken place in my life.

As I began going to school, I was unsure what I wanted to do with my life. I had been praying for years that God would show me the direction He would like me to go; it seemed like this praying was fruitless. In my slightly OCD mind, I had compartmentalized possible career paths into three categories: Science, Medicine, or Law. I was struggling between these, but one day God reminded me of the career path which He had laid on my heart since I was five (literally). I had somehow lost the idea in the midst of all my efforts to choose for myself, but God gently reminded me that He wants me in the field of Dentistry. I can't say why, but for some reason that is where God has directed the road of my life. Deciding to pursue dentistry was the third great change which God has made in my life.

Though God showed me the career which He wants for me, He was also showing me at the same time that I had become too materialistic. I had placed a great deal of worth on worldly objects and aspirations. While things such as good grades, reading great literature, and becoming accomplished in music are important, they had become much too important in my life. God has, in His kind and gentle ways, slowly ushered me away from the bosom of commercialism and materialism. I definitely still have a very long way to go on this journey to the center of God's will, but He has somehow gotten me off to a good start. This is the fourth change that has taken place in my life for the better.

Since we moved to Colorado, God has been teaching me things that help me to make my faith my own. God has always used my parents as a catalyst in developing my faith, and this year has been no exception. Having long discussions and prayers about important theological concepts has helped me to understand the true nature of God. This greater understanding of God has helped me greatly, and is a part of every other change that I have listed above. God truly has been great to me (but that's not a change, is it?).

Well, I've spent a lot of time writing this far; I think I will wait until tomorrow to write the bad changes that have happened in my life. So expect tomorrow's blog to be much shorter :P .