LEX

sometimes i like to act like i'm not very sentimental. i try to put on this tough exterior like nothing can phase me. i'm strong. i'm stable. unemotional.

but that's not really true. i can be very sentimental, and truth be told, i like to reflect on the past year - not to make new year's resolutions, but to see where God has brought me...and how He has brought me here.

so i was reading back through the past year of blogs and was reminded of just how much God has taught me and how much He has blessed me. just like 2006, the year 2007 held a lot of contrast for me - from the Dominican Republic back to the US.

and as i was reading back through the stories of the DR, i was reminded of how beautiful and difficult it all was (and is).

there are beautiful beaches and beautiful mountains and beautiful sunshine. and there are difficult dirt roads, and difficult rain that brings difficult mud and difficult floods.

there are beautiful people and beautiful friendships and beautiful children with beautiful joy. and there are difficult diseases which bring difficult death (to both old and young) and difficult mourning that we can't understand.

and there is a beautiful culture of beautiful hospitality and beautiful community and beautiful grace. and there is difficult poverty contrasted with difficult wealth.

and there is me. there is beautiful grace and there are beautiful blessings that God has bestowed on me. and they are so beautiful because of my difficult sin.

though i spent the final 5 months of 2007 in austin, who i am as i start 2008 cannot be separated from the first 7 months that were spent in the DR. God had many lessons for me during those 7 months that i only began to realize during the past 5. i could go on and on about those lessons, but that's not necessary here since, really, they can be encompassed in two thoughts - love and trust - love others, trust God. i have intentionally left self out of the equation.

i know i'm not yet perfect at either of these, but i hope that the past 5 months i have done both more and better than ever before. and i pray 2008 trumps 2007.

posted by Alexia & Jeffrey @ 11:01 AM