Career
I am now firmly entrenched, committed, set, etc., with my field of study and future employment: marriage and family therapy. In a masters program now and can't be more satisfied with it. Of course, it's tough studying in an environment that has little appreciation for Christian values (ie, advocating gay couples/families, cohabitation, and so on) but the people in the program are great and I thoroughly enjoy being with those who have the same interests as I do. Still can't believe that I'll start seeing clients next fall. I guess you could say that I'm looking forward to it.
Love
Now that I'm pretty much "majoring" in relationships, I can't really see myself dating anyone seriously. I mean, who would want to put up with me, who's been learning all about what makes a successful relationship versus an unhappy one. If I was dating right now, the poor guy would be the butt of all my experiments. Who the heck would want to put up with that? Besides that, I've realized that dating is WAY too time-consuming. What's the point of spending so much time with someone who might not even be the person you'd end up with? I'd rather take that time to straighten myself out before putting myself out there. If people took the time to get their own crap together instead of finding someone who will supposedly solve all their problems, then the divorce rate would probably decrease considerably. If it isn't obvious yet: I am happily single, no matter how lonely that occasionally gets.
Home
After all these years of writing these year-end reflections, this is the first time this word, "home," has such a peculiar feel to it. For the first time, home is not where my parents live. Home is not the house I grew up and lived in for over 20 years. Home, now, is going to church and meeting Jesus in the Eucharist as often as I can. Home is turning to God for all my needs and for all that I can be thankful for.
I will say this over and over again because I firmly believe it: the timing of what's going on with my parents coincides way too neatly with what I've decided to do. And while it's very easy to see how this would cripple me in my work with conflicted couples and families, I've realized that God allows such things to happen to me because these experiences can be my greatest weapons in the future. Obviously it's not something I'd proudly wear on my sleeve but certainly it will allow me to humbly present myself as I am in even a more powerful way. The pain I have experienced this year is a pain I will never wish upon anybody, not even my greatest enemy. But it is a pain I am learning to embrace and accept.
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." Mark 8:34
Friends
Friends are awesome. I heart my friends, especially those who have been so supportive of the vast changes that I've experienced this past year. If it weren't for them, these transitions would have been a lot more lonely and despair may have approached me too easily.
There's not much more I can say about this. I will be eternally grateful for all the people I have encountered in my life. Amen, amen!
Faith
Perhaps because there has been so much pain this year, I have never felt God's presence more keenly than I did in 2009. I've slowly emerged from my hiatus of service by helping out at a retreat and directing a conference. I joined my university's Catholic community and sing at their Mass on Sundays. I help out with the prayer meeting every so often. I am learning to love, even when I witness the growing failure of my parents' marriage. My faith, then, has grown much stronger in this past year. I know this to be true because I can still move forward each day while surrendering all circumstances to God and His will. This is not to say that God makes my life easy, because it isn't. Despite the difficulties, I have been extraordinarily blessed- more than I can possibly imagine.
So 2009 has been a very eventful year. Thanks be to God for His peace that even the world cannot give. Thanks be to God for everything that has happened to me in 2009. I look forward to what's in store for me in 2010!
