Reflection and Refinements

As I reflect on the past year, my heart is filled with gratitude for the many blessings God has given us. The biggest blessing was a healthy pregnancy and successful delivery of a precious baby girl.

She has been the light of our lives since she arrived in June. I have made the transition from being a teacher to a stay at home mom and I am loving every minute. I truly feel like I am fulfilling my purpose in life and it feels so good.

I have a loving husband that makes me smile on a daily basis and our marriage has grown so strong through a year full of changes. We have adjusted to the role of parents and learned alot about each other along the way. We have weathered the storms of intern year and Ophthalmology residency and we are beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

We purchased our first house and have worked together to make improvements that make it a home. We have gotten a new car and lots of other stuff yet still remain financially blessed.

God has been so good to us and I often wonder, why me? I am humbled by his mercy on me for I am such a sinner. Thank you Lord!

In the midst of all this grateful reminscing on the past year, I can't help but think about some things that I would like to improve upon in this new year. Some call them resolutions but I don't like the negative connotation those have. Let's call them refinements!

I will get this one out of the way first, I want to lose weight. I know, shocker! This is a refinement that many people will claim for this new year but I hope to really make it happen. I have always struggled with my weight throughout my life, sometimes for no good reason, but now I honestly have an extra 15 pregnancy pounds I have been lugging around for the past 6 months that I need to shed. I was not blessed with the weight loss benefits of breastfeeding, so I have to do it the old fashioned way. Diet and exercise....blah! YMCA and Weight Watchers here I come!

The second refinement I would like to make is a closer walk with God, another common refinement. I have been a christian for so many years but I have found myself allowing my husband and my child to fill the places in my heart where God should reside. I have not made time for prayer and study and I have absolutely no excuses. I have the time now, I just have to use it. When I tell someone that I will pray for them, I want to really do it and see it through until the prayer is answered.

The last refinement I would like to share is my desire to be a more intentional mom who practices what she preaches. I want to say things but more importantly do things that will help Brinley to become the little lady I want her to be. I know through my years of teaching that the best way to teach a child something is to model it, and that is what I want to do. I have talked alot about how I hope Brinley is a loving, compassionate, generous, and selfless servant to others but I don't always show that with my own life. She already watches me like a hawk and I know she will continue to do so more and more as she grows up. I want her to see in me the qualities of Jesus. I want to be that salt and light in her life and others.

I have actually already taken my first step in doing this. Today I signed up to sponsor a child through Compassion International. I have always known about this and thought it was great but I never really wanted to make the commitment. I was convicted while reading a post on a blog I follow, Kelly's Korner, about a mission trip she took with Compassion. I have been given so much, there is no reason why I should not. So today, I logged on a saw this little fella. He had a heart on his picture because he has been waiting over 6 months for a sponsor. The heart strings were tugged and I was hooked.

Meet Theo from Indonesia. I love him already.

Thanks for reading a post unlike most that I write. A little more on the serious side but something I really wanted to say. I ask that those of you who are close to me will hold me accountable to the refinements I have made. I hope each and every one of you will take a few moments to think about how much you have been blessed in the past year and what you want to do to make your life more meaningful in 2010. Maybe you will even want to join me in sponsoring a child from Compassion. There were so many on there, maybe you can find one as cute as Theo. :0)

Happy New Year!