Breakthrough

1 year ago….

Can you picture it? Where you were? Who you were? How much you would change in the next 12 months?

I never thought my life could change so much in a year. But 2019 was the year of change, victories and most importantly breakthrough.

A year ago this week, I walked nervously into church for the first time in a decade for something other than a funeral or wedding. A year ago this week, I walked in the doors of 7 Hills, full of nerves, feeling ashamed, broken and embarrassed the path my life had taken. A year ago I felt the overwhelming sense of peace of a lost sheep finding their Shepard. A year ago this week I decided to turn my life back to God and let Him truly in my heart.

It had been so long since I had opened my heart to God, to the wonderful things he wanted in my life. I spent so much time blaming God, or anyone, for the things going wrong in my life. I wasn’t taking time to praise the amazing things I had already or celebrate the victories when they came.

2019, hasn’t been the easiest year of my life. It has been a year of inner reflection on who I want to be, who I need to be and who I was created to be. At the start of the year I took to plunge into serving at church. I decided to publicly declare my faith and my decision by being baptized again. Those 2 actions set the stage for the entire year. It taught me that victory and breakthrough don’t happen with out sacrifice, prayer and praising God even when I feel like I have nothing to be thankful or blessed for.

My small group is something I am incredibly grateful this year. To be surrounded by young women who are so sure in their Faith, so sure of the love and power of God. It was inspiring and encouraging. Many times I felt like I didn’t know enough about the scripture I was reading, or the stories we would talk about. But the amazing thing was the group never judged my knowledge level. They would help me understand, we tell personal stories of when they saw God in their life. It was through these amazing women I learned that it’s okay to be at a beginners level while others are on expert. I learned you cannot compare your seedling to someone ones tree. They were once a seedling too and it takes time to get to the next level.

Consistently reading the Bible is still something I am learning to do. But, I can see a difference in the way my days and weeks go when I am truly committed with giving time to God. I’ve taken this last year and sort of just winged it. I have been trying suggestions and seeing what sticks and works for me on my path with God.

I’ve found my favorite place to pray is actually in the shower. It is the time where I am not distracted by anything and I can truly just have a conversation with God. I’ve found that when I feel stressed, overwhelmed or overly negative about something at work, if I just take my headphones out and put some Worship music on my phone, I instantly feel a sense of peace. My spirit calms and I focus on the words and praise instead of the thoughts of not being good enough, or that this coworker is doing something that just irks me. I feel like my winging it way has really helped me with my faith because I’m trying and finding what works for me.

I am the happiest I have ever been a year later. My heart is beyond full, and I don’t feel like a piece of me is missing any more. I have found peace and love that I could not comprehend or even fully put to words.

These last 12 months I have seen breakthrough in myself, I have started to become the person I know I am meant to be. My attitude has changed. I see more positive things in my days than focusing on the negative. I have stared working on everyday have a heart that his grateful than one that is ungrateful.

” I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made”

Psalm 139:14

I have seen breakthrough in my love life. Being set up by mutual friends, I am in a healthy and happy relationship that has me so happy and nervous all at the same time. I feel so incredibly valued and loved. I am not afraid of voicing my opinions, my feelings or things I am not happy with. I was so hesitant to enter a relationship this year. Feeling like I needed to finish fixing myself. I had begun praying after the advise of a friend over my dating life, for guidance and clarity. When I started going out on dates I just prayed that this relationship was blessed and sent from God and another list of victories that He as provided. Only time will tell how everything will play out but I have truly never been at such peace in a relationship.

I have seen breakthrough in my career. I just received an awesome promotion at my full time job. It will be the biggest challenge for me in the coming months but I know I am going to succeed because I am putting my fears and doubts at the feet of Jesus and letting him cover me. I even saw amazing opportunities from my photography business with working for Children’s Hospital for their charity work and getting more experience with working with family photography.

The last 12 months have brought incredible change to my life. The song ‘See a Victory’ by Elevation Worship, has been popping up when I did not even know I needed it constantly over the last four months or so. It has become my song of the season of life I am in right now and I feel incredibly moved every time I hear it.

I feel like this blog is taking a shift of the journey of life I am on right now. The ups and downs of navigating my faith and path back to God. I hope you will join me for this journey. I hope you find something in my words that gives you hope that whatever you are going through, whatever battle you are fighting just know God has you. God can do all things, but he cannot fail.