Lessons Learned in 2011

2011 has closed and 2012 has dawned. I look forward to 2012 with hope and the courage of possibilities. This time last year I was looking at 2011 with confusion and uncertainty as I had lost my job at Lewisville Baptist and was working part-time at Target for $7.75/hr because pastors are not eligible for unemployment insurance. We also started our new church and knew not whether it would last. Our church has flourished and I begin a fulltime, permanent job in Raleigh this week.

Even though 2011 was a year of uncertainty, it was also a year of being formed and fashioned into someone new. I have learned how to persevere through difficult times, be content in whatever state I am, and take life as it comes instead of wrestling with it to shape it into my own image. I have learned how to have peace in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. These lessons are more valuable than fame or fortune.

It is my sincere hope that I will apply these lessons to life in 2012 and that God will be glorified every step of the way.