March 28th, 2012

3/28/2012

3-28-12

28-03-2012

March 28th, 2012

No matter how you write it, the date is the same.

One of the big lessons I learned in the Human Services Program was that reflection is a powerful learning tool. Reflecting on past experiences allows one to notice mistakes and successes. The date on the calendar today made me stop and think for a few minutes this morning.

Today's date has been burned in my mind since May 12th of last year (the day I booked my flight to Ireland). When I booked my original roundtrip flight to Ireland, March 28, 2012 was the return date.

I thought for sure that I'd be in Ireland until today. I had no reason to think otherwise. Then God surprised me and brought me home after only 2 months. I know now that being in Ireland for only 2 months was His plan the whole time, but it took me a while to figure that out.

There are two major things I learned while I was in Ireland. One of them is to trust God. There were days when I had to depend on God for absolutely everything in my day. Those days were challenging to say the least, but I learned so much from them.

Upon returning home, my trust in God was tested yet again. I began searching for a job. It took me 3 months and 56 job applications to find one, but I found one (or rather, God brought the right one to me).

God has shown me that if I put all my trust in Him, he will take care of me and provide for me. I never could have imagined the last 12 months of my life panning out the way they did. I am thankful for everything that has happened, both the enjoyable things and the challenging ones. I know that God has been the one orchestrating everything in my life over the past year. Things did not happen the way I would have chosen, but I'm so glad they happened the way they did. I trusted God to take care of me and he has come through in ways I couldn't have imagined.

Since I've been home, God has poured out his blessings on me. The list is much longer than this, but here a few of the big ones that come to mind...

-I've been able to spend time with my best friend and support her as she prepares for her wedding

-I've been able to reconnect with old friends

-I've made new friends

-I have a job (that I really enjoy!)

-I was able to spend Christmas with my family

A year ago at this time, I had not even thought about traveling, let alone going to Ireland. I can't wait to see where God has me a year from now!

(I'm not sure why the formatting is so weird on this post)