I put my iPod on shuffle and begin to enjoy an eclectic mix of music for the next 59 minutes. I was on a train headed to Lake Como as my last trip for my semester abroad in Italy. I began to reminisce of the past year and specifically the last 4 months - nostalgia is an apt word for what I was feeling. After a few songs, one of my favorite groups (Bethel Music / Jesus Culture) begins one of my favorite songs, 'Show Me Your Glory'. The train speeds northward through the Italian countryside and the words of the song reverberate in my heart: 'I long to stay in your presence, it's where I belong - show me your glory'. Even my silent echo of these lyrics brings a peace and joy to my soul that I have been missing for a while. The words of this simple melody playing in my ears hit the deepest part of me and I realize that, truly, I belong in His environment. It is what I was born for. It is what I require. It is where joy wholly resides.
This year I have not been perfect nor have I consistently been enthusiastically pursuing God. But I have learned more about who I am, who I don't want to be, and who He designed me to become. In each of my shortcomings, I have discovered more of Him. More of His forgiveness and patience. More of His insatiable love for me. More of His excitement to see me walking in freedom. "Freedom isn't the absence of confinement. It's the presence of the person Jesus". I am thankful for the experiences I have grown through in 2013 and ask God for an even better 2014.
For the entrance into the new year, I encourage you to pursue further and dig deeper into the Love that is Christ. I encourage you to welcome in the new year by praising God for His creativity and thanking Him for His never ending love and mercy and especially the birth of His Son. Therefore, seek to encounter Jesus. Have a personal experience with who He is. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His nature in a new way every day in 2014. THIS is the best gift we can receive this Christmas. THIS is the ultimate resolution for the new year. 'Show me your glory, Jesus. I want to want you even more.' Let's begin this new year with a joyous entrance into His gates and courts!
"Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with joy! Enter His presence with joyful singing! Acknowledge that the Lord is God! ... Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give Him thanks! Praise His name! For the Lord is good. His loyal love endures, and He is faithful through all generations." -Psalm 100
~Elizabeth
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