Flourish.

At the beginning of each year, I asked God to give me a word for our upcoming year as a family.  Just one word to meditate on, pray about and lean into.  For the past two years, I believe the word that God gave us was “faithful”.  Time and time again, I needed to lean into that word, when working through finding a job, filling out immigration paperwork, waiting for a green card, purchasing a house, having a baby...and all of the moments in between.  Over and over, God asked me to believe in His faithfulness and each time we found victory, I was reminded that our God is a God who can be trusted.

So this year, as in year's past, I asked God to give me a word again; a word to both ground me in the present and give me anticipation of what's to come.  

Flourish.

At first look, its such a cute and flowery little word, isn't it?  But vague…oh, so freaking vague.  Flourishing could look like little spouts in places where there was no life, or it could look like wildflowers with growth infiltrating every nook and cranny.  Flourishing could result from large amounts of effort and watering, our could be the result of areas where I stopped medaling and allowed space to be dormant for a season.  When I first received this word, I didn’t know when or where it would happen, but I was expectant all the same.

Looking back, the past year has been filled with flourishing. God has given me a deep appreciation and love of “family”, more specifically where we do life and who we do life alongside.  Home has become more than just a place where I eat and sleep and get ready for another day, but is a place where we grow and change and create a space for our families to thrive.  It's where we find respite after long, hard days.  It's where we learn difficult lessons, speak hard truths and maybe even shed some tears.  It's where we learn who we are and discover how to support and encourage each other.  It's where our family legacy is unfolding every single day.  It’s been such a fun journey to unpack and discover how to use this new perspective for family and home to serve others.

Prior to this year, I would say that I really enjoyed the story that Dillon and I were writing together.  We’ve been able to make great friends and visit new places and overall, it has been a good story.  But in the past 11 months, I’ve fallen in love with our life and seen each of us, in our own ways, flourish.  Dillon has grown as a creator through designing and building beautiful custom furniture for others and has worked so hard to make our home a space we adore.  Goodbye wood-paneling! And through the transition of becoming a mom, I’ve learned a lot about family moments and have loved capturing and sharing our story and the story of others through photography. At the same time, I have challenged myself in writing in a more authentic and genuine way, unapologetically sharing how God is challenging and encouraging me in my journey.  It’s been an exhaustingly full year, and we’ve loved it. 

And so here we are, at the cusp of the beginning of yet another year, eager and expectant for whatever the next day holds for us. Thank you, dear reader and friend, for following along our journey so far and embarking with us as we continue on!