Goodbye 26. Hello 27.

My birthday is tomorrow. Yippee. The year I was 26 was not very kind to me, quite honestly. I'm ready to kiss it goodbye, help pack it's bags, and tell it to go.

But 26. Necessary.

You see, Joseph, the dreamer, had to spend 12 years in prison. He was also innocent. But it was necessary and apart of God's plan.

No. 26 was not prison for me. However the same concept, growth, was necessary for me to move on to 27. You see I experienced a lot of new things in the year I was 26-years-old; my son had surgery, I got several new tattoos, I did a ton of charity work, and met so many new people I cannot list them all.

I also experienced a lot of pain. Pain so deep that only God could reach it. But that pain also caused extreme growth. I lost a marriage. I lost friends. I experienced a lot of loss actually. Some of it that took me longer to realize I had to let go, out of obedience. But the gain from it, the wisdom, the new season; it's worth it.

You see God shared several promises for me for my future, some that might come true when I'm living out 27, and I know others will take patience and time. But I'm standing firm. One thing I learned in the year I was 26 was to be fully content and confident in God who then in turn would create in me a confident and beautiful woman. I let go of a lot of insecurities in the year I was 26. I met people who impacted my destiny forever; and literally I sit in tears to encourage you.

Where you are at,  you cannot stay forever. Whether that is moving you into a more difficult season of growth or a period of rest. God's timing is always perfect because I love how He brought me through some of my most difficult moments at the end of 26. It's now like 27 is a brand new fresh start for me.

Overwhelming. 

If I had to pick one pivotal moment of the year I was 26 though I would have to admit it was the breaking of the bond to the gentlemen I had held on to for so long. { You can read this in another blog post found here. } The freedom from breaking this bondage is just, WOW.

I'm not sure of all God has planned for my future. But I'm young. If Noah could wait 800 years to see the rain, why can't I?

Goodbye 26. Hello 27.