The Year for Desert Flowers



Man, am I happy to welcome in 2019! It’s a New Year, and with that a new start. I don’t know about you, but the last few years have been a trip. 2018 seemed to be the year of the quarter life crisis for us Melilials. We’ve aged out of our parents health care; the warm fuzzy college memories have faded as real life has smacked us in the face; the sudden realization that we have to decide NOW what to be when we grow up has us reeling; our political climate leaves us unsure of whether we should laugh or cry. For many, its safe to say that 2018 left us feeling a little dry.

A wise professors once said: sometimes the desert seasons are the ones in which we grow the most, even though in the moment it feels like we’re doing anything but that.

I don’t know if 2017 and 2018 are best described as a desert, draining me with its overwhelming dryness, or an ocean drowning me in its tumultuous waves. (A bit dramatic, I know but the imagery was too good pass up.) Which ever metaphor you choose, the concept is the same: the last couple years have been a challenge. But in moving on from 2018 and transitioning to a new year I am seeing that my wise professor was right. The last couple years have caused me grow, and while I didn’t see it in the heat of the moment, I am now beginning to witness something beautiful sprout from that hard, dry ground.

In a way 2017 and 18 were similar for Hope Tech. This last year and half has been the awkward baby stage for us as a start-up nonprofit. The process of self discovery, while incredibly exciting, isn’t without growing pains. I’m amazed at how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time, but just like in my personal life, Hope Tech’s growth is not possible without the challenges it faces. It’s taken patience, sacrifice, boldly continuing despite uncertainty to grow into our identity. In overcoming our trials we become who we are meant to be. It shapes us.

The dry deserts and overwhelming waves, having the ability to cause irreparable damage, can be frightening. But that same force which can cause such hardship also has the ability to create beautiful life. 2018 has taught me that the goal is not to avoid the waves, but to learn how to ride them. This life practically guarantees that we’ll have to endure feelings of unfulfillment, depression, loneliness, relational brokenness, anxiety, etc. Pretending like these things can’t touch us doesn’t do much to protect us. But learning how to press forward through these hard things creates an inner resilience that, if we endure, will blossom into something beautiful.

I stand on the edge of this new year attempting to see what’s ahead, and even though I cannot be quite sure, I have a sense that the hurt is finally turning to healing, the uncertainty is turning into faith, and hesitancy is turning into boldness. Those negative things, however, would never have changed into something rich and new if I had attempted to avoid the desert. It was enduring the dry season itself that is changing my character. I am thankful for 2018 for the life it will give me in 2019, while being very happy to wave it goodbye.

2019 is the year to thrive. I am eagerly anticipating the newness 2019 will bring, both for myself and for Hope Tech, and to see what beautiful things are produced coming out of 2018.

But each of our paths are different. For some of you, 2019 might hold a desert season. If so I pray that you find hope in knowing that hardship is not purposeless, that, if you endure, you will find something beautiful being produced as a result. If you are in that season now, you are probably tired of people telling you to hold on, that “it will all work out in the end”, because right now that doesn’t matter so much. Right now you feel like you are drowning. If you want the advice from someone who’s struggled swimming the last year: sometimes the best thing to do is to stop treading water. Not to give up. Not to sink into hopelessness. But to look up at The One whose hand is extended. The One who, while seeing our weak attempt to swim, responds in compassion. I’m finding new hope in 2019, not because I was such a strong swimmer, but because I realized that the only way to endure was to trust Him to lead me to a place where one day I would see something beautiful come from the dry, dead ground.

May you find resilience and beauty in this New Year.



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