restoration

On the last day of 2012, I spent time reflecting on my year.  I hadn't realized what a hard year it had been.  I had completed two semesters of the hardest school work I had ever faced in my life.  I had experienced real spiritual drought, apathy, exhaustion, and burnout.  I had been tested and trialled in areas that are too rough to even type out.

But in the midst of all that hardship, I knew what it had made me become at the end of the year.  I see 2012 as a year of restoration.

At the end of 2012, I see how much restoration I've received from God.  He has restored me to a place of passion and delight that I had somehow lost.  He restored my purity.  He restored relationships with friends and family members.  He healed areas of my heart that I didn't even know were broekn.  He restored my weary soul and gave me such sweet rest. God saw me broken and tired, and He renewed me and gave me strength.  He is still giving me freedom in areas that used to hold me captive.  He has shown SO much compassion and grace on me.

I've also seen restoration in the lives of the people around me.  I've had multiple best friends go through bad break ups, and have seen the healing hand of God help them through it.  I've seen big and lofty dreams come true.  I've seen opportunities come that could have only been given from the Lord.  I've seen financial provision come when its been most needed.

Psalm 23:2-3, "He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul..."

I'm thankful for the restoration in my life that only comes from the Lord.