(Skip the 1st three paragraphs if you already read them in the cover photo 🙂 )
It’s now almost a month into 2023 and almost a week into the Chinese New Year! Wow, time flies!
I’m late in posting my reflections since I hadn’t figured out what to write! I did remember that I hadn’t shared my 2021 theme on this blog though! However, I had forgotten it! I even went through my 2021 prayer journals again so that I could remember! (For those who read my “End of 2021” blog post, you might remember that I look back over the year to see what theme/lesson God was trying to teach me that year.)
The lesson…
…was Evangelization!
Hmmm…Evangelization! Through my prayer journals, I realized that that was the theme! I’m actually surprised that I had forgotten it off the top of my head! I started livestreaming because I felt through prayer that the Lord was asking me to use my singing to reflect His love for everyone through songs, both Christian and secular. (That is the reason for my Instagram and Kumu username: dilectarose. “Dilecta” means “loved or beloved” in Latin.)
Now enough about 2021! Onward to 2022! 🙂
In 2022, so many blessings happened! 🙂 Looking back over my posts, the events of the year, and my prayer journals, there seems to be two prevailing themes: Trusting in God’s Love and Healing!
I had gotten some insights about God’s love from when I discussing life with my priest older brother: “Whatever you do won’t make God love you more or less. He will always love you just the same – unconditionally! What you do only helps to increase your love for Him.” and “Right now, He wants the love of the you now and not the love of the you before.” Due to the physical limitations of my frequent migraines, I felt guilty because I am unable to do all of the multiple daily prayers and practices that I did before. Just because I’m unable to do all the same things as before doesn’t mean that I have stopped loving God. Rather, He wants the love to the extent that I can give Him now. He wants the love of the Marirose as I am now not the Marirose as I was before. This doesn’t mean that I should be okay with the status quo though. In addition to what He asks of me, I should always continue to strive in growing in my love for Him as much as I am physically able.
For Healing, several emotional wounds from my life came to the forefront this past year: some that I didn’t realize I had! (One of these actually came to the forefront when I started crying while singing a song in one of my livestreams!) Here is a paraphrase of what one of my college Bible study leaders told me: “The wounds in life are like thorns. Even if you have forgiven or forgotten, the thorns are still there. In order to heal, the thorns need to be taken out. God brings each one up again when you are ready to deal with them with His help.” I know that my wounds will never completely heal in this life but, at the very least, I am able to move on from them. This time of healing has been such a blessing for me!
Well, that’s my 2022 in a nutshell. 🙂 I’m already starting to see some pattern in my journals this month but I won’t know until later in the year what lesson God wants me to learn this 2023! 🙂
Challenge question: What was God trying to teach you in 2022?
Lord, thank you so much for all the blessings especially of the this past year, 2022. Open my mind and my heart to be ready for the lessons You want me to learn this 2023!
Take 5 & Strive 