THIRTY

30!
Yes...it's really here!  Many would say that you change a lot in your teens and grow into who you are.  My dad once said he would argue that 20's are your most defining decade.  I think I just might agree.  As I look at life, the first decade you spend learning how to be independent...learning to crawl, feed yourself, walk, talk, read, write, etc.  The teen years you think you know how to do it all, and then 20s I gradually realized that what life really takes is not to be independent, but dependent on the Lord.  In the past 10 years, I have gone from walking on my own back to a crawl before the Lord, learning that less of me means more of him.
It's amazing to think through the past 10 years..I completed college, was preschool ministry director, lived with my grandma, backpacked through Europe (adventure), traveled to Tanzania for missions work, student taught in Chile, mourned the loss of a great friend's life, moved to Florida, worked at Disney (fun), moved to Iowa City, was children's ministry director, began teaching pre-k (responsibility), lived completely by myself (better experience than I could have dreamed), took up running, completed a 1/2 marathon, met the love of my life, married, purchased our first home, navigated crazy married life-Ahh!, got a puppy (really shows settling down), then another puppy, made multiple treks between IA and TN, piloted the opening and directing of a childcare center, moved away from friends and family, experienced the heartache of miscarriages, worked sun-up to sun down while pregnant,...and my favorite....became a Mommy!  With that came...a ride in the ambulance (I waited 29 years for that..Maggie wanted to do it at 6 weeks), vacationed at the hospital multiple times (again overnight stays were a first for me), logged many miles in the car, learned a lot about the body and health, became a therapy scheduler and exercise helper, researched, researched, researched, became a Mama Bear (as needed), and I learned to stand firm on who I am and what I know!
I'm tired just typing all this.  I keep telling Maggie I think she has aged us more in the past year than all our years combined!  Though it all seems like a wild adventure and a lot of coming and going, I'm confident the Lord has been leading each and every step of the way.  It's just whether or not I always follow and obey so quickly.  I've learned a lot about myself over the past few years and am excited to keep learning.  I would say that this decade I have become much more dependent and reliant on the one who created me!  I would consider it very defining.