Hi Everyone!
Can you believe that it is almost Chinese New Year and Candlemas Day (February 2)? January 2024 is almost over! So much has happened to me and I’m feeling like my year is off to a great start! Hopefully yours is too! (Shout out to my Marian Consecration group! Thank you for being part of the start of my 2024! I already can’t imagine my 2024 without you!)
Now…onward to the lesson/theme that I got from 2023….(For those of you are new to my year end blog posts, I typically look back over my prayer journal and events of the year to figure out what God has been trying to teach me throughout the year.) 🙂
For 2023, the lesson/theme I got was the importance and the freedom that comes from rejecting the lies (whether consciously or subconsciously) that I tell me about myself.
I mentioned spiritual wounds in my last post. The lies that we tell ourselves (that we’re not enough; that we will never be chosen; and others) can also contribute to those wounds. Rejecting those lies and their influence on one’s life is very liberating!
I was blessed to be able to go to several retreats last year. I remember that at one particular retreat I was having a hard time being completely open. I physically felt like there was a block in front of my heart that prevented me from receiving what I needed to receive.
During confession that retreat, I remember coming to a realization of a lie that I had believed about myself. Father was able to walk me through rejecting it and announcing the truth right then and there in confession. I can’t tell you the sensation that I felt! The resistance in front of my heart that I felt seemed to have melted away! My heart felt so peaceful, open, and empty – a good empty that anticipates being filled. I cried with relief and joy feeling that release. Just writing about it now brings happy tears to my eyes.
Whenever I’m struggling again with that particular lie, I try remind myself that sense of peace and joy I received in rejecting it and announcing and believing the truth of its opposite.
I’m looking forward to see what God has in store for 2024! So many blessings! Marian consecration day with a group :), deepening friendships, new mindset, new challenges, anticipated summer visitors and trips, and so much more! 🙂
Challenge question: Reflect on the blessings and events of 2023. What was God trying to teach you? 🙂
*cover pic is of the first religious craft order that I got this year. 🙂
Take 5 & Strive 