Dear 2016

Dear 2016,

You taught me so much in just 365 days. When I think about who I was 1 year ago, I wouldn’t even recognize her. When 2015 ended, I was excited because I thought I knew exactly what you held because the number 16, Biblically, represents love. I just knew that my plans would lead me right into the arms of my Savior, lovingly answering every prayer I prayed and request I made.

Now, I’m not saying that I didn’t experience the love of God. Because I did. Radically! But it wasn’t in the ways I thought I would. Let me explain. Because I lead a women’s ministry and 2015 also led me into leadership in my local church, I thought I had to be the “picture” of what loving God looks like. I thought that living a life worthy of my calling (Ephesians 4:1) had to look a certain way for it to be pleasing to Him. I thought that my life needed to resemble the lives of others for it to be a life He could use for His glory. So, when several rounds of tests, scans, and bloodwork revealed that a small tumor was in my brain, I was devastated. I never imagined that’s how my 2016 would start out. I had always been fairly healthy throughout my life so January brought a complete shock. I felt defeated, unloved, and forgotten. How was I supposed to accomplish all the things God called me to do when I couldn’t even muster up enough energy to get out of bed some days. It didn’t seem like I was experiencing the love of God while I was experiencing extreme nausea and headaches as a result of the medicine that was supposed to be making me feel better. Those promises God made me were becoming more like hallucinations as I planned to take a break from pulpit time to get a handle on my health.

Little did I know, God was manifesting His overwhelming love in my life through every doctor’s visit and every prescription being filled. I learned that He was truly my strength, my healer, my comforter, my protector, my King. It was in those times that I needed God the most, that He met me there. He met me in the places where I thought I was at my lowest. As the year went on, I went from despising those moments to cherishing them. God taught me about who I was when I wasn’t at my best. God confirmed who He created me to be when I was quiet enough to hear Him. He taught me to be quiet and let Him fight my battles, even when I thought I was right. I got to see the core of who I was when no one else was looking. 2016 caught me by surprise but led me straight to the place I needed to be: on my knees.

Psalm 119:71 MSG My troubles turned out all for the best - they forced me to learn from your textbook.

There are so many things in life that we can overlook without ever learning the lesson but 2016 was a year full of wisdom, mercy, and grace. It wasn’t displayed in crowds or on social media for Retweets, Reposts, or Shares. It was in the arms of my Savior when He provided me safety and security when my world seemed to be crashing down. It was when things weren’t going my way or when I wasn’t feeling 100%. That’s when I knew He loved me. I knew because the presence of the Holy Spirit was so tangible in those moments. There was nothing else that could have given me peace during those times except for a real, living God.

I don’t claim to have had a perfect year but I do know that in 2016 I was kept by a perfect God. So, to a year that brought so many beautiful challenges and so many humbling experiences…I say thank you. Thank you for maturing me in my faith, as a Believer, as a woman, as a wife, as a friend, and just as a person. There are some experiences that you can’t even describe and 2016 was one that I never saw coming but would never give away.

Instead of a vision board for 2017, I simply have a prayer board that will direct my communication with God. No matter what comes my way!

With All My Love,
Mrs. Truscott