Jacqui is one of the most consistent friendships in the past several years of my life. We have a standing call weekly, and despite the fact that I've slept through our past two scheduled calls, talking with her is usually one of the highlights of my week. We used to meet up for coffee when we lived on the same continent, and starting in those coffee shop conversations in early 2019, Jacqui would always wonder what next year would be like. "I can't wait for 2020" is definitely a hilarious statement to think about now; if we'd only known, both of us would have been happy to hang out in the first half of 2019 for much, much longer.
After four years of intentional chats, Jacqui knows all the tea in my life. All the tea. It's one of the beautiful things about walking together with someone as we both move towards Jesus. She's seen my struggles, and, boy, have there been a lot in the past four years. I've seen hers too, and one thing I can say for sure is despite some pretty low lows in both our lives, we're both closer to Jesus than we were at the start of 2019. On our last call, there was some pretty exciting stuff on the horizon for 2023, and we laughed about how we both were ready for a year of good things.
So, inspired by a different Kiwi who posted at the end of the year 22 things learned in 2022, I'm writing here 23 things I'm excited for in this coming year.
2022 being over. Let's be real: it's been rough.
Seeing more growth in my current students.
Getting a new group of students to see growth in.
Downsizing the clutter in my house (I actually already started this in December).
Reading more books.
Traveling to see people I love (I have one trip booked for spring break, and a couple other options waiting for details. Despite how much I hate the actual traveling process, I love getting to be face to face with important people in my life.).
Better work/life balance.
Sitting at my picnic bench drinking coffee and talking to Jesus.
Hanging out in the library (librarians are awesome).
Having my friend Jill back in Kandern.
Eating spicy shrimp pasta with Esther Kim.
Seeing tangible progress in physio.
Hearing the kid down the street call me "Aunt Laura."
Making progress on my doctorate.
Going to Ettenbühl for tea again.
Hearing the wind blow through Kandern.
Seeing more sunsets.
Practicing affirmations more regularly.
Late night conversations while looking at the stars.
Colouring more pages in my colouring books.
Learning new things.
Talking to Jacqui regularly.
Walking into new opportunities in obedience.
This coming year holds a whole lot of unknowns for me, but I'm choosing joy and moving forward intentionally with what I have right now.