Hey y’all!

Happy 2019! Are there any 80’s babies in here who never EVER thought it  would be possible that the 2019 would  ever exist? I at least thought we’d have flying cars and be able to teleport by now (lol) but alas, 2019 is here and full of new adventures and new journeys.

At the end of each year, I like to take some time to do some reflection. Usually I am able to gather all my thoughts into a blog piece, but for some reason at the end of last year, I was having the hardest time articulating all the thoughts that were running through my head.

2018 by no means was my worst year…. but it wasn’t up there as a contender for the best year either. All last year I had multiple people from all facets of life tell me that 2018 was supposedly ” My year” . Although I appreciated the thought and faith behind it, I honestly didn’t put too much measure into it… at all!  The months rolled by and still, business as usual in most aspects of my life, I began to ask God, ” Ok God supposedly this is my year. So where are these so called blessings that are on the way?” God hit me back with a poignant ,”Yeah it’s your year… but your year for what?”

Whoa… I automatically thought  “my year” meant blessings on overflow in 2018.  (YASSSSS GOD I’M READY lol) But what I soon came to discover was it was my year for so much more.

I would chalk up my 2018 to my year of refinement.  What does it mean to be refined? According to dictionary.com the word refine is defined as:

1. 1. to bring to a fine or a pure state; free from impurities:to refine metal, sugar, or petroleum.
2. 2. to purify from what is coarse, vulgar, or debasing; make elegant or cultured.
3. 3. to bring to a finer state or form by purifying.

This brought me back to the song “Refiners Fire”.

The lyrics talk about how we want our hearts to be purified like gold and silver and how we want the refiners fire in our own personal lives, calling us out to be holy and set apart ready and available for God to use.

Gold and silver have to go through a process to become the purest and most valued versions of themselves. They have to be refined to draw out any impurities or unbecoming qualities before being presented as a gift, or for purchase.  You see, refining is a process  that takes quite a bit of time to get right. Oh but when it is right, what a beautiful piece of handiwork it creates.

That’s the beauty of how God works! He allows even you and I, who He made perfect in his likeness, who oftentimes have strayed away from the perfect portrait of ourselves He created, to be refined and made like new time and time again! Ready and available for him to use once more.

2018 had to draw out the impurities within myself and make me the best version of who God intended  and created me to be, and in His infinite grandeur has made me the best version of myself to date!

Will I still have down days? Of course! Will I get everything I want, when I want it in 2019? Probably not! Will I have moments that I won’t shine as brightly as God needs me to? Absolutely! But thats the remarkable thing about how God works! Even metal sometimes get tarnished and needs a little freshening up. So what do you do? You pull out your polish and get to work! Before you know it, the metal is back to its shining glory! The same thing happens with us. Sometimes we lose our way, or we get a little dull. That’s when God steps in and shines us right back  up and returns us to our original luster!

So 2019, I’m ready for you ! God I’m ready for you to take me to higher heights this year and I’m making the  new and improved refined me ready and available to do your will!

If this is your refining year, I pray that you let God carry you through this sometimes tiresome process and that no matter what you see it through because the best you is on the other side of it!

Pray for me y’all cause I’m praying for you and may 2019 ACTUALLY BE our best year yet!

I can’t wait to journey with you guys this year!

God Bless!
xoxo

 

©justlovethemanyway