On being 24

Holly: 23 was a rough year for us.  I found myself, at 23, in various up and down stages of my life: I watched my sister graduate from Berea, all the while celebrating my first (whole) year of being a Berea alum and not a college student.  We moved again, and don't see ourselves moving for a long time.  I started my first full-time job.  We allowed an alien time traveler from Gallifrey to enter our lives and take us to places we'd never imagine.  And then there were the downs: a friendship coming to an end, some difficult family circumstances that I'd rather not mention (God knows and things are great now, but will never be the same), working multiple jobs and struggling very much so financially, to the point of almost moving back home, and losing Grandpa.

I woke up at my usual time this morning, but with a bit more pep in my step, so to speak, as I am always grateful for my birthday.  It's suffice to say that birthdays are usually a lot less exciting when you still have to go to work, but I digress.  This year, I'm 24.  24 is my favorite number.  And while I'm another year older and I celebrate that and thank God for that, the day didn't go without its share of sadness.  Today also marks the one year anniversary of Grandpa passing away.  One of the things that inspired me the most about my grandpa was his faith; Jesus was at the center of his life and he lived, breathed, spoke that reality every day of his life, right until the end.  I was driving on the interstate, praying and thanking God for my grandpa, listening to K-LOVE and an acoustic version of "I Can Only Imagine" came on.  Knowing that my grandpa was with Jesus and his family, living out what I can only dream of (being with Jesus eternally), I started crying and wasn't sure I would stop.  It was a mixed moment: I miss my grandpa more than words can express, but I rejoice that he is with the One whom he loved more than anything.

24.  Another year older, and the first year without my grandpa.  I'm looking forward to being 24, and I'm open to new possibilities and opportunities.  I'm praying for clarity; God has a plan, and He knows my heart and my desires.  I'm not where I want to be, but I'm not where I used to be; God has brought me through so much and I find myself craving more time spent with Him.  I pray that God will open doors and strengthen my faith as I start my 24th year.  I truly believe the best is yet to come.

Kelly: I don't look it, but some days I do feel myself getting older. Woke up this morning with a few aches, but I woke up. God has been very good to me. This past year of being 23 years old was without a doubt one of the hardest years of my life. Some very good things happened though; I finished nursing school, graduated, moved again, took/passed the boards, got hooked on Doctor Who and started my job that I am currently holding. However, I also endured my fair share of hard times; losing my Grandpa (on this day of all days), said goodbye to an almost 10-year friendship, saw my family be (almost) ripped apart, struggled with a lot of anger and frustration and at one point or another thought about throwing my potential career away. 23 was a very difficult time, but out of those difficulties God really taught me a lot about not only His grace but showed me how much through Him I could handle. And let me tell you, I can handle a lot now. He made me a stronger, better and happier person because I got to a point where I let things fall into His time. If it wasn't for His time I'd still be holding onto a toxic friendship and a lot of other things. I'd be miserable. But today, as I sit here and write this, I am far from it.

I'm not sure what being 24 will hold, but I know God has a plan and that it will be good. And the year 2014 in of itself is already promising to be a good and interesting year. I've found myself starting to think about things I normally didn't have the time to think about while I was in school. I know it's a rubbish excuse, but being out of school really does free up so much of your time. You think about things you don't normally, you do things you used to do but couldn't (I've been READING so much more!) and you get to see and enjoy yourself more. Seriously. But one thing I've been finding myself thinking about is the idea of relationships. I'm at that point I believe in my life that God is planting a seed that could potentially blossom into either a really great friendship or something much more beautiful than that. Either way, I'm very happy. And this person knows that I'm happy he's in my life....and no I don't feel the need to constantly broadcast it all over every social media site every single day. But our relationship...is a very unique one. God is up to something, but I'm just not sure what it is yet. Anywho....yeah. A year sure goes by fast. I'm not the same person I was, thanks be to Him. I am so blessed and pleased with where I am right now. I'm thankful that this past year has taught me to grow despite of my struggles. I'm also thankful for new places, faces and experiences. 24 will be better than 23, I am determined to make it so.