My Christmas tradition has been to write an end-of-the-year letter that encapsulates where I feel the LORD is leading me in the coming year and what I hope to look forward to. Here is this year's installment.
Beloved
Friends
and
Family
Merry
Christmas
once
again,
my
sweet
loved
ones.
There
is
much
to
celebrate
in
this
blessed
season.
Yet even
as
I
write
these
words
I
know
that
for
some
of
you,
2012 has
been
not
a
year
of
joyous
celebration
but
one
of
loss
and
sorrow.
However, no
matter
the
season
in
our
lives
we
can
be
confident
that,
as
Philipians
1:6 says,
“He
who
began
a
good
work
in
us
will
perfect
it
until
the
day
of
Christ
Jesus.”
Whatever
loss
we
have
faced
this
year,
loved
ones,
it
does
not
have
to
define
us.
Our
lack
may
simply
be
a
tool
for
the
LORD
to
bring
us
closer
to
Him.
This is a lesson that I have had to face head-on recently, but even
in this I can be thankful: The LORD has seen me through these times
and has given me good things to celebrate in the midst of them.
Two
thousand twelve opened with me privately tutoring a young boy with
special needs named Sam. Having unsuccessfully searched for
employment in the months after returning from Korea, I found the job
through a friend and former co-worker that had recommended me by
name. Sam
has been a bright spot for me this year in his goofy, fun-loving way,
and serving his family has been such a blessing. I hope to continue
to be a blessing to them for however long the LORD wants me to be
with them.
At the same time I was helping
with Sam, I was able to help others catch the vision of what God
wants to do in the nations through a class called Perspectives on the
World Christian Movement. In the class, adult students learned the
foundations of missions and the purpose for continuing to reach out
to other people groups. They also gathered ideas for how to use
their new knowledge in their daily lives, whether still in the States
or abroad.
Towards
the end of the summer, God opened an opportunity for me to use my
talents at a law office downtown. I was super-busy learning about
criminal defense law and the ins and outs of the judicial system.
Through the
position, the LORD was able to bring members of the nations to me and
I was able to pray for them.
The
other thing the LORD brought into my life this past year was to be a
part of Toastmasters, an internationally recognized volunteer
organization which seeks to provide a positive atmosphere for its
members to grow in leadership and communication skills. I will have
an opportunity in the coming year to increase my leadership skills
through the Vice President Public Relations officer. Though the
position frightens me just a little, I know it will give me a great
opportunity to reach out with my talents and bless those around me—as
well to practice the skills I will need for stepping into whatever
community God eventually may place me in.
I
am thankful to be back in Texas, but adventure still stirs my heart.
I yearn to see more not just of the world, but of where the LORD will
take me in the coming year and how He can use me to reach the
nations. As we end 2012 and look forward to a hopeful future, I
leave you with the words from Isaiah: “Enlarge the place of your
tent... stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare.”
Let us expand our vision for what the LORD has for us in the coming
days and seek to be a blessing to those around us.
All
My
Love,
Jennifer
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