I'm happy there's instagram. It makes the job of going back the past year really easy. I only had to go through my ig posts to see where I've been and what happened to my life the past year. That's totally cool, right?
That's exactly what i did and even I am surprised that last year seemed uneventful. To be honest, I found it a bit hard to pick out momentous occassions. I may even be brave and say that at one point, my life came to a standstill. Am I imagining it or is it that enjoyment for me has taken on a totally different meaning than what I used to. Color me mature but I must have really mellowed down. Ha ha go figure.
Anyhoo, here's a roundup of my 2013 in numbers. They're not in order of importance. I'm just writing at random, so count away!!
10 (ten)
This year, Earl and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. Has it really been that long? What can I say, I've been blessed with the most awesome man for a husband. He's my best friend, buddy, confidant, encourager, comforter, my greatest gift. Because of him, I am even more certain the Lord loves me. How else could this kind of a man find me and love me like he does. I know love because God loved me first and I know love because I'm living my own epic romance.
Thank You Lord for 10 beautiful years of wedded bliss. Earl and I pray that in Your mercy, You keep turning water into wine for us like in the first wedding of Cana.
17 (Seventeen)
That's the total number of people who graced my 35th birthday which I jointedly celebrated with the hansam June Vincent. I'm so blessed with the most awesome friends in the whole universe. Thank You Lord.
1 (One)
If I have to pick out one extremely happy, totally rockin' memory for 2013, this trip to Honkong and Macau would be it. I have every single lucid detail imprinted in my mind. By far the most epic, monumental six (6) days of 2013 for us.
I wrote about this here :
http://iamsugarandspice.blogspot.com/2013/03/travel-diary-hk-macau-awesomeness-our-6.html
122 (One Hundred Twenty-Two)
I finished 122 books in 2013. What can I say, I'm a voracious reader. I have a love affair with books that I don't have any intention of breaking. I had to make a list, sorta like an inventory of those I've read coz one time I read something halfway through and realized I was done with it (obviously, it's forgettable or I wouldn't have committed that blunder haha). Thus, the list.
Next on this blog is my Top 10 reads for 2013. Watch out for it!! (Clue: photo above haha)
3 (Three)
I've been to three mini-reunions with my DB buddies. It's always explosive and fun. We're a bunch of whacked out dudes, so you can just imagine.
First Photo: Ayala Meet-up sometime July
Second Photo: Salay's Bday, Lighthouse Resto, August 30, 2013
Third Photo: Open Mic, September 2013
We'll have to top the count this year guys. Please.
2 (two)
We've been hit by two devastating events for 2013, the Bohol quake and the killer typhoon Yolanda. There are no words to describe the heartbreak I felt for our brothers and sisters affected by these calamities. You'd think after all these we'll be knocked down on our knees with no strength left to rise. No sir. Propelled by our faith in the God whose love is unchanging, we held on as a people and a nation. We prayed more, gave more & hoped more. Help poured in like rain. With God's grace, we're slowly rising on our feet. We are being rebuilt and restored. There is hope in humanity and an even bigger FAITH that God who sees will pull us through. We just have to believe.
Yolanda also gave me and my group of friends the chance to be nameless individuals who went out & gave what little we have to help out. We went out to bring hope and received enourmous freedom and joy in return. That was one experience i'll carry with me forever. The same one that showed there truly is no measure to the joy of giving.
4 (Four)
I made a pact with 4 people last year - to meet on a regular basis, catch up and touch base and never lose the bond we have with each other. Boy we're we faithful. Oh and guess how many times we went out last year? Five. Yes, we're promise-keepers like that.
March 2013, Cafe Laguna
Next schedule, Post Valentine's date
And the BIGGEST EVENT, JUNE's graduation party (hay salamat, manlibre si binsen, yayyyyy)
Lookin' forward to the next one loves.
3 (three)
Last year I was honored and blessed to have met and work with 3 remarkably amazing women that I really admire big time. They are advanced in years but still at the top of their game. While other women their age are content spending their retirement money going on vacation and simply staying at home (nothing wrong, in fact I may be doing the same when I reach my prime, IF the Lord allows hehe) they spend their hours managing their people, thinking up strategies to better their respective units and work at putting UV on top. They are the most hardworking, passionate, big-hearted women at their prime. Apart from my Mom, they're my role models career wise. I could only hope i'll be half as good as them when I reach that age.
Dr. Zosima Panares, Dean of the Graduate School
Dr. Nerissa Lopez, Dean of the College of Education
Rosemarie Espanol, CPA, Senior Finance Officer and Dean of the College of BA
The past year I've been to one explosive concert (PlanetShakers), been to Oslob twice (still at the top of my go-to vacation places in Cebu), went home to my hometown twice (these were some of my most relaxed, quiet and restful travels of all time, of course I'd grab a chance to be with my family each time) and towards the end of the year, achieved my goal of losing weight (yayyyy, 11 pounds down is a good number, right?)
In brief 2013 was a year I was faced with a lot of life changing choices. I've never been in so much crossroads that left me fearful, anxious, panicky but also excited and hopeful. I was so used to having the Lord choose for me. So when I felt I had to make a conscious choice without His direction, I panicked. I can't seem to hear His voice & that is a really scary thing for me. But the Lord is good all the time. He was there, all along. My prayer is always that I be in the center of His will where it's safest. And even if at times it felt like I made wrong turns, He was there. And He worked it out unto good each time. This doesn't give me the push to be careless in my choices but to rest in the knowledge that I am a child of the living God, therefore I can punch fear in the face because I am taken care of and loved no matter what. I'm a lot braver now, enough to embrace ambiguity and not have to make a choice just for the sake of having one. But when I have to, I'm brave enough to face whatever the consequences head on.
To end my roundup of the past year, let me just put in the 3 most important life lessons 2013 gave me:
1. What doesn't kill you, really does make you stronger. And what a sap I am that while writing this, there are tears in my eyes. It's been common knowledge that I left a place of safety & comfort. I've been there for long and loved every minute of it till the last days. But when it's time to leave, you'll know. And i did, so I left. After that was madness and confusion. I can't seem to find home. I was in search of something I can't point my finger to. The fact that I didn't know what I want is what frustrates me to no end. So I started with something I do not want and took it from there. That journey of confusion, self-loathing, disappointment and despair led me to where I am now. I thought for sure all the madness will kill me inside. Wrong. I've never felt more alive, more capable and stronger. I relish all the bawl-my-eyes-out moments I've had with the Lord in that quiet place in search for answers - because that's where I found "The Answer". It's the Lord. It's always been Him.
2. Remember the choices I wrote about earlier, well second most important lesson of my life is that WHEN FACED WITH THE DILEMMA OF choosing between safety&security over passion&creativity, I'LL CHOOSE THE LATTER EACH TIME. What a relief once I learned that about myself. Modesty put aside, there were offers of a sure and steady career in companies that are really up there and stable but I found the courage to turn it down coz it didn't offer up much in the way of passion and creativity. My logical self would want to grab it but the larger part of me that operated on instinct begs to be heard. That's when I knew. Maybe that was how the Lord was teaching me how to choose. To listen to my heart coz that's where He writes His will. I know it's the right one coz the moment I made the choice, there's peace
3. Lastly, I'm surprised to find out how I stick to my guns. So the third most important lesson I've had the past year is really one of self-discovery. I know now that no matter how and what people's opinion of my choices are, i'll stick to my guns. Not for the sake of being stubborn or making a point but that I have established that this is actually my life. Mine. My life, my choice. It's between God and me. Period. So I've learned to tune out people's opinion of the choices I make but keep my ears and heart open to godly friends who have my best interests at heart. Them, I make accountable for me. That's so they'll pray for me. They don't have a choice. We carry each other's burdens. We're loving that way.
I thank You Lord for 2013 - the good, the bad and the in-betweens. Thank You for surprising me with a tremendous amount of learning experiences that made me come out stronger, bolder and braver.
My future is uncertain but You O God have and hold it in Your hand. So I give to You my fears, anxieties and worries. Have Your unhindered way in me. Lord it over my 2014. Bless Earl and I with Your presence, protection and provision In Jesus name, Amen.
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