A Year in Review

Today was the one-year anniversary of when I started working at my current job.  It's kind of hard to believe that it's been a year...but in some ways, it feels like I've been here way longer.  In any case, today I reached the little calendar square where, many months ago, I scribbled "You made it through a whole year!" In recent weeks, this impending date has been referred to in my mind as "cupcake day," because I decided that a fancy cupcake from the local bakery would be a fitting treat to celebrate overcoming my first year of working in ministry full-time.  Never mind that I just ate a cupcake from there three days ago, when my sister was visiting.  That is neither here nor there.

OK, so "cupcake day" turned into "cupcake-and-tiny-cannoli" day.  What can I say, it's been a long year, and I love canolis.  That's a banana split cupcake if you're interested...strawberry cake with a pineapple filling, with banana frosting, dipped in chocolate and topped with a cherry.  Soooooo delicious.  I took my little pink bakery box and settled into one of their patio chairs to reflect on the year.  I wanted to savor the moment, and really think about everything I've accomplished over the last year.  It's been a hard year in a lot of ways, but on my one-year anniversary it seemed appropriate to take note of all the positive things.

Here's what I came up with.

Over the past year, I have...

-Lost 30 lbs (which isn't work related, but is totally worth noting)

-Successfully rebuilt a derailed preschool program from the ground up

-Written and orchestrated two preschool performances

-Recruited Sunday School teachers to not only teach for a single season, but continue teaching even after their first responsibilities ended because they enjoyed it

-Learned how to be a positive force against negativity

-Learned to be okay when I can't please everyone

-Learned that sometimes people will take out more anger on me than I deserve, and that I shouldn't take it personally

-Taught kindergartners what the word "exile" means, and had them actually remember (and similarly complex components of Bible stories)

-Written, and nearly implemented, an entire summer Sunday School curriculum (work in progress)

-Become more self-confident and outgoing with people I don't know, or barely know

-Become less apologetic for being who I am

-Gotten better at handling stress

-Built good relationships with my boss and other coworkers

-Made friends in a brand new place

-Gained the trust of parents to be a spiritual leader for their children

-Built teacher relationships with the children of the church, and learned the name of every child in the church

-Been yelled at a lot and have cried a lot, but have still managed to do my job

-Built good relationships with my employees, and survived angry exit interviews of unhappy employees

-Implemented a brand new Christian Education methodology with increasing success

-Done a lot of ridiculous things (scheduled fire truck visits, ordered a zipline, arranged for bounce house rental, sung Beyonce in front of people, choreographed a space-themed Christmas musical, etc)

-Developed a strong volunteer committee

-Inspired the church to create our own Vacation Bible School, and to take ownership in it and be excited about it

-Started to encourage people to expect more from the children's ministry than they have in the past (meaning, it's more than coloring sheets and Veggie Tales)

-Taught kids about God, and encouraged their curiosity in the Bible and in God

So, despite all the hard times, all the overwhelmedness, all the troubled phone calls and facebook messages to friends and family, I'd say that it's been a pretty good year overall.  Not sure how I got here, but I think God deserves a lot of the credit.  Because, to be honest, I was kind of a mess a lot of the time.  But God works, even through my own anxiety.  And that's a pretty good deal.

On to next year!