Favorites & Lessons {Of 23} // Vol. 1

In honor of my last week of being 23 (hooray for birthdays!), I'm dedicating this week to my favorites & lessons from 23. I am so thankful for all of the amazing things that have happened this past year, and I'm excited to take a walk down memory lane. 

Walk with me, will you? 

One // This past year, I learned an awful lot about friendship. I learned that in order to make connections & form relationships, you have to put yourself out there. I learned that wearing a smile, being friendly and asking questions can be all that it takes to start a friendship. 

{Source: this post.}

This year, I saw how little it takes to turn a stranger into a good friend. I learned how much you can find out about a person when all you do is show a little interest in their life.

I am so thankful for the incredible friendships the Lord has blessed me with. I hope to nourish the existing ones in 24, grow them even deeper, even stronger. 

And I hope to turn many, many more strangers into friends. 

Two // I drove up to surprise one of my very best friends in San Francisco. 

My time with this girl is always incredible. She is one of those people that just gets me, and never fails to inspire me to be better, do better. I am so very lucky to have this one in my life. 

{Source: this post.}

Three // I learned a ton about grace this year. I learned that I am not perfect, and I am not expected to be. I also learned that God is not limited by my limitations. He works in my weaknesses in ways that I may never understand. 

{Source: this post.} 

I learned how to let that truth wash over me. How to let His beautiful grace pull me from whatever mess I've made and point me straight back to the loving arms of my Savior. 

I learned that making mistakes is inevitable. But when you understand the grace that God gives us, when you understand exactly what salvation means and what we are saved from, you are

free to not make the same mistake twice. 

This was huge for me. I am the queen of making the same mistake over, and over, and over again. But realizing that God sets me free from that? Well, there's just nothing like that truth. 

Four // I stress fractured my foot. 

First legit injury, and boy, was this a learning lesson. I learned that my identity lies in Him, and realized that I had been letting things get in the way of our relationship. 

{Source: this post.} 

I had been finding all of my confidence and worth in the fact that surprise! Maybe I can be good at this whole running/athlete thing. I've learned that there is a very definite line between being sad over something, and being devastated. Devastation usually shows that we are valuing something over Christ. 

And dang, if you had seen the tears streaming from my eyes while at work, you would have seen the definite devastation that I was feeling over this injury. It gave me the opportunity to reevaluate my priorities, and surrender some things up to Christ. 

Those 6 weeks in the boot did a lot more than just heal my foot, that's for sure :)

Five // I flew to Boston, boot, crutches & all, to return for the opening of Reality Boston. 

And while on that flight, I had my first clear message from God. He spoke to me in a dream, and I am so thankful that I documented it all right here.

So many amazing things happened in just the first few months of being 23. Can't wait to continue the recap tomorrow :)