Ruth's Ramblings

2003 in brief

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
Finally getting my thesis approved and receiving my MSW degree. That was at the start of 2003. The rest was sort of downhill from there. =P Apart from my education/career (or lack there of), I think I've experienced alot and learned alot this year too. So alot of personal growth in certain areas of my life was definately great accomplishments along the way - in my marriage, in ministry, in community, and in my spiritual journey with God. This year was very dry, and at times, a bit scary (see below) - definately a desert/winter time in my life. I'm learning, however, to go through these times with faith and to work with what I have rather than focusing on what I don't have. I may not always know what God's doing, but the essence of faith has a big foundation of hope in it.

2. What was your biggest disappointment?
Gosh, where should I start?! ;-) Well, everyone has disappointments, and 2003 ended up a really sucky year for alot of folks I know (some more than others - but people complain just the same). There was alot of tough spots for myself as well - dealing with continued adjustment to my constantly changing life, dealing with difficult personalities, dealing with my own difficult (and growing) self-will, and dealing with alot of fear and spiritual warfare. Those dreams I had back in the spring, they are starting to come back a little, but the difference now, is that I'm not controlled by them nor by the fear that they used to produce in me. And that's a big relief. Maybe that's another big accomplishment for this year (see above) - being proactive with the Truth that's been given to me and fighting off alot of lies around me. I have also been disappointed with the community around me and the quality of life and how things just turned out this year with my career/employment options - my expectations for things to follow through when I wanted them to was probably not realistic, but still disappointing nonetheless. Since then, I've learned that sometimes its just part of life, and to stop whining, shrug it off, and just accept life as is and deal with it (see above). So I am. I wish others can stop whining too, but that's a whole other story in itself. =P

3. What do you hope the new year brings?
More growth, more maturity. Also, more wisdom and less stubbornness in me. I've discovered that this year I became very strong-willed and extremely reactive/combative and I certainly developed (as Wayne calls it) issues of authority. Submission was never really a big problem until this year, for some strange reason. I'm hoping that my heart changes in this area sometime soon (butting heads with everyone gets tiring after awhile). I'm also still learning how to set boundaries for myself - a chronic problem I've had all my life. I'm getting better at it, but there's always still more room for improvement. Maybe this new year I'll see some better changes with that as well.

4. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions? If yes, what will they be?
Not really. I used to do alot of resolutions, only to break them once February comes around. But one practical thing I'd like to do is probably work out a bit more regularly. Be more healthy physically. Other than that, I'll still be working on the things I'm working on now and trudge along at the same pace as usual.

5. What are your plans for New Year's Eve?
Not sure yet - probably hang out with some friends. Open a bottle of champagne, same old stuff, you know. =)

Posted by Ruth at 12/29/2003