30, Flirty, & Thriving!

After giggling over the phrase "30, flirty, and thriving" for years, I can finally apply it to myself. Many of you know that I turned 30 on New Year's Eve. I had an absolutely fabulous birthday spent in the NC mountains with a great group of friends from college. (pictures to follow at a later date)

Now that life has calmed down after the holidays (okay not really-I've been super busy so far this year-par for the course with me I suppose), I've had some time to reflect on my life. Personally, I think that one of the most important things to remember is this: even if you aren't where you thought you would be in life, you are exactly where you should be. If I had to paint a picture of my life up to this point, this is not how it would look. However, my picture pales in comparison to the one God continues to paint for me every day. His plans for me really are better than anything I could imagine or conceive, so I take comfort in that. When I get frustrated with certain aspects of my life, I try to surrender my plans to God's and take comfort in His grace and love.

As I look back on the past 30 years of my life, I have mixed emotions. I see pain, joy, sadness, love, confusion, fear, frustration, and hope. More importantly, I see determination, growth and progress. Someone once said that we meet different versions of ourselves throughout life, and this is absolutely true. I would love to sit down with myself at various stages of my life and reassure myself that everything really is going to be okay.

I'd like to tell my awkward 12 year old self that I won't look awkward forever. I'd like to hug my 18 year old self and tell her that she is beautiful, smart, and capable of doing great things. I'd like to sit down with my 26, 28, and 29 year old selves and tell them that when God closes a door, He really does open a window.

I've decided that this is going to be my year to THRIVE. I want to try new things, live life to the fullest, and really think outside the box. I want to embrace life-the good, the bad, and the ugly-for all it's worth. Already this year I've cooked raw meat (BIG step for this vegetarian) and bought a lottery ticket (1st one ever). Watch out world-I'm 30, flirty, and thriving!