Favorites & Lessons {Of 23} // Vol. 5

First of all, thank you all so much for your sweet comments on all of these posts. 

Thank you for walking down memory lane with me this week. 

And thank you for walking through this past year with me. 

All of my good days where I came here to laugh, rejoice & praise God with you. 

And all of my not-so-good days where I came here to share my heart. 

You guys are amazing. 

And I love you all. 

So, so much.

And now, for the end of this series. The last 4 things on my favorites & lessons list. 

I'm not gonna lie, I saved the best for last :)

It's time to confess that I've been keeping something from you guys these past 6 weeks.  

I know, I know. How dare me. 

Fear not, no more secrets. 

Blog friends, meet Chris. 

There have been so many times that I wanted to share this with you all. But judging by how fast my heart is beating as I type these words, I can tell that right now is the perfect time. 

Right now, as I'm recapping my 23rd year, it only makes sense to share the most exciting part of it. To share all of my favorites & lessons from these past 6 weeks. Because there have been 

a lot of those. 

Twenty // I have learned that God really will write your love story. And I've learned that it's true what they say, His version will be 100X better than what you ever could have dreamed up for yourself. 

I have no idea what God has in store for Chris and I. I know that it's only by Him that we are where we are today. I know that we both feel an immense amount of confirmation from God that we are supposed to be in this relationship. But where the story will end? I don't know. 

But I do know that our story is worth sharing. Our story is a beautiful story of how the Lord works so perfectly in two lives, intertwining them to refine His precious children. He brings people together to build a stronger unit for His glory, and that's exactly what He's done with Chris and I. 

So regardless of how this ends? I am now more convinced than ever before that God really does write beautiful love stories. 

And you can absolutely bet that the entire story of how this beautiful thing came into my life will be shared on the blog at some point. 

Twenty One // May 11, 2013. 

My first date with Chris. 

And it is 100% one of my favorite moments of 23. 

{Sidenote: May 11, 2012 was the day that Chris & I had our first conversation. 

Coincidence? I think not.}

Twenty Two // I learned that there really are men who will hold the door open for you. Who will pray for you. Who will tell you that you look beautiful, but even more importantly, who will tell you that your faith is beautiful. 

And ladies, for those of you who are still waiting, it's worth waiting for. 

You deserve to have the door held for you. 

You deserve to be prayed for. 

You deserve to be told that you are beautiful. 

And you deserve to be told that your faith is beautiful. 

Don't ever forget that. 

Twenty Three // I learned that relationships are hard. 

You read that right, I said that I learned that relationships are hard. Even the most beautiful, godly relationships take work and effort. In these past 6 weeks, I have learned so much about myself. 

It's easy to ignore your fears and insecurities when they are only affecting you. But when you watch as your fears and insecurities affect someone else? That's when you realize that it's time to address them. 

And that's what I love about this relationship. Chris has never once critiqued me (it's been 6 weeks ladies, I'm sure that will come in time). He has never once asked me to change, or work on something. 

And yet without saying anything, he challenges me to grow. He challenges me to improve myself, strengthen myself, and be more like Jesus. 

I've never had a relationship like that before. And this is absolutely something that I am willing to fight for. To fight through those hard moments, the moments of doubts and fears and insecurities. 

Because those moments are real, and they happen. 

But when God is in a relationship? You can bet that He will carry you through the hard times. And you can bet that He will strengthen the relationship through them. 

***

And there you have it folks, my 23 favorite moments & lessons of 23. 

Chris, thank you for making these past 6 weeks so incredible. Thank you for all that you do for me, all of the ways that you bless me every. single. day. 

Thank you for supporting me. And thank you for your patience as we have gone through this transition together. 

I look forward to all that 24 will bring, especially with you in it :)

And blog friends, that goes for you too!

Happy Friday, my loves!