A year ago tonight, on the eve of my 28th birthday, I sat down at this keyboard to note many of the valuable bits of my twenty-eighth year. I’m prompted to do so again before tomorrow arrives, twenty nine in tow. Upon turning twenty eight, I would not have anticipated what the last 365 days could hold. In this life, with our God, the Creator of the Universe at the helm, a year cannot go by without something of the miraculous in it. A week can’t. A day can’t. And the older I get, the more I understand how much this is true.

I’ve just looked back through a number of blog posts from the past year, and there’s a commonality that crops up in almost all of them: I am in awe of God. I don’t think I consider this as much as I should (although much more so now as I soak in tiny baby features every day with Henry), and I’m grateful to be able to see it in late night writings and random reflections from months ago. This year, with its ups and downs and hardships and joys, has taught me a lot about simplicity and how I crave it–how I desire to strip life down to its bare bones and find what really matters; I want so badly to stop sweating the small stuff, to put down the insignificant, and to wholeheartedly embrace all that is deserving. I want to go after what moves me and changes me, and to do so with a level of contentment and deep passion that I know I’ll have to work hard to achieve. I want to glorify God.

My twenty-ninth year has been all about recognizing what is most important. As an entire little person became and grew and developed in me, as Henry was born and we were suddenly and forever changed as a family, God has used the days to teach me about embracing life through a more focused lens. I am honing in on who I most want to be as a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. And it isn’t that this process hadn’t already begun in me before, but I can see it continuing through every thread. I’m so grateful for the relationships and experiences in this past year that have allowed me to become more and more of who I am, of who I am destined to be.

28 has been very good to me, and God has been abundantly generous. There are so many blessings I could list, but the overwhelming and most powerful gift this year is the one I have always wanted–to carry a child, to be a mom. And now I have Henry every day to remind me of the great duty that I’m called to and the one I most aspire to be. Each day of my 30th year will be spent with this in mind, and I’m so thankful.

In last year’s post, I included the following as highlights of the year before:

-Learning to love in new ways. Learning to accept in new ways. Learning to be more patient, forgiving, gracious, joyful, peaceful, grateful, passionate, determined, surrendered, delighted, open, vulnerable, willing, prayerful, serving, wise, discerning, restrained, empowered, life-filled than I was at 24, 25,26, (27)…

-Being stretched and molded, challenged and frustrated, loved and forgiven, adored and accepted, blessed and protected, guided and sought-after, uplifted and joy-filled, made worshipful and more sanctified by a most Holy and unconditional Creator. After this year, our God is more marvelous to me than ever before, and I have more trust and faith and hope in Him than I ever knew possible.

After 365 more days, these are highlights again. I can only pray to say the same when I look back on 29–and each year following. As I welcome this birthday in the coming hours, I am surrounded by blessings; I see God’s fingerprints on every, single page.

just pregnant (6 weeks), and writing to baby k.

henry, 19 weeks along.

35 weeks pregnant.

welcome, baby!

so in love.

scrunchy, two day old henry. 🙂

henry, 5 weeks old.

oh-so-blessed, and anxious to see what God has in store for my thirtieth year!

mm