23

So, it's my birthday. Last year I was pretty excited about my birthday. Well, I guess I'm still not as old as I should be because I think I was even more excited this year. ;)

Last night during my time with God I came up with a new birthday's eve tradition. Last year I said I was excited because I felt like God was going to do a lot in my life. Well He did so I took my journal and reviewed my 22nd year. I wrote out what God did in my life month by month for the whole year. It was great. I wrote all the things He did and the challenges that He helped me face. Here's a short version.

• I took an art class and started drawing again and made a visual journal. This is important because I had kinda quit drawing and it's a huge way I express myself. God also sometimes speaks to me and helps me untangle problems when I express them visually.
• I was feeling really stuck spiritually, super frustrated, and wondering if any of it had been real. I made this collage and through it God showed me that my walk with Him had been real. It sounds silly but this was the thing I needed to move forward.
• I had what is probably one of the biggest turning points in my life in a Catholic church in Paris. God basically told me that we could be reconciled and that He is my father. I ended up sobbing and hugging this priest I'd never met who was blowing on me. Crazy, but it changed everything.
• God asked me to take a vow not to date for six months (even though I already wasn't, I think it just gave me the security I needed) so that He could reset some really bad ideas I have about relationships with guys. I think God has done a lot in this area, I still talk tough but I'm not so afraid and consequently my friendships with most of the guys around me have gotten better. I've also, more recently, become a lot more merciful towards those who like me a little too much.
• In November some friends and I took a vow to spend 70 minuets with God a day for 70 days. This has been super. Especially in the middle of a busy semester, it's kept me disciplined.

So that's the really, really short version. God's done so much in me this year (especially since that Catholic church in May), it's been a little hard to keep up at times. There's still a lot to change but at least this year I feel like I'm moving forward. And what does God have tomorrow? I think it's gonna be good.