Dear 38

Dear 38,

Woah! How are you already over? Congratulations on being the fastest year of my life.

If you could waltz, I feel like we did. I don't know how to waltz. So basically, I didn't know how to do this year.

You were hard, 38. You brought a lot of moments that I wasn't prepared for. You brought health scares and stress. You were overwhelming and it was hard to handle at times.You brought moments when literally the only thing I knew to do was to fall on my face and just cry and pray. And that was hard. But I'm thankful for it. You brought me closure to my faith in God. 

You also brought a lot of new. So much new, actually. You brought new experiences. New restaurants, new cities, new memories. You brought San Francisco in a new way! A double decker bus I hadn't rode since I was a child through Bay Bridge Park, visiting SF Public Library. Eating lunch on the Wharf and late night coffee and pastry runs while shopping.

You brought surprises. I like surprises. People are the best surprises and you brought me family from Singapore!  A small group that I love and encourages me to grow. A husband and father that constantly points me to Christ and never fails to make me laugh. A daughter that loves adventures and Target as much as I do. A mother who has undenying love for myself no matter the situation. 

You brought growth. This year I got to watch my boys grow like crazy. Landon giggles and chatters on in his gibberish and keeps us on our toes. Daniel is becoming more stable in his Diabetes care. It also brought personal growth. I have grown more confident in myself and who I am.

You brought accomplishments. I've repaired relationships and moved forward from others. I've personally grown. I'm now gluten free and live a vegan lifestyle. My kids hate it. 

You brought feelings. SO. MANY. FEELINGS. 38 was filled with all the feels.
You brought confusion and understanding. You brought stress and peace. You brought pain and comfort. You brought conflict and resolution.

You brought all of these events- and every single one of them, even the hard ones, reminded me that God is faithful. He started good work in His kids and He is not going to up and leave them when they mess up. God is faithful to wait it out.

Thank you for a crazy fun, crazy hard, crazy new, year. I hope 39 teaches me just as much about who God is and how faithful He is. And is filled with twice as many pastries and tea along the way... 

Yours Truly,

MariaAnn