Most years, it seems like the Christmas season approaches us and warrants the same response: “Geewhilikers, it’s December! This year’s really flown by…”
This year, however, has been different. While I remember the last few moments of 2009 with great fondness, they seem separated from the present by the distance of an entire lifetime. 2010 was a big year for me, filled with great accomplishments, abysmal failures, and a veritable collection of lessons learned. I laughed, I cried, it changed my life.
As much of a “late adopter” as I can be, dreading change or transition until its arrival and often living in denial of it once it does come, I found myself refreshingly resilient in 2010. It’s not that the year itself was entirely negative, there was just a lot that happened. Speaking numerically, I went through a lot.
#1) I graduated high school. My senior year at The Daniel Academy taught me the value of enjoying boyishness before jumping into manhood. While I was ready to be done with the schoolyear for the entire schoolyear, I learned that patience is truly a virtue. I also learned that Christian schools don’t do well with the idea of a “prom,” and there are some subjects in Student Council meetings better left untouched.
#2) I gave a girl concert tickets with romantic implications. She took her boyfriend. They later thanked me for giving them “the coolest date ever.” Lesson learned: say more with words, and less with carefully-decorated envelopes.
#3) I went through three laptops, a desktop, sixteen cell phones, and an iPad. (I sold the iPad. That’s an entirely different blog post.) What can I say, I’m an electronics nerd, and one who’s well-versed in the art of the Craigslist trade.
#4) I counseled a group of awesome 17-18 year-olds at Awakening Teen Camp. Peter, Kevin, European Danny, Asian Danny, Canadian Danny, Jordan, Ben, Jed, and Thomas… it was such an honor to lead you guys and grow in the Word for two weeks. You guys rock.
#5) I worked another year for IHOP–KC’s marketing office. On top of my networking responsibilities, I serve as Expendable Crewman for the office, making coffee and giving unwanted, unhelpful advice to the designers* when need be. Shawn, Steve, Jane, Maggie, Adam, Kristen, Eduardo, Gedy, Isaac, Joel, Lala, Stephen, Stasha, Mallory, Nathan, and Katie, you guys are a blast to serve and I’m blessed beyond words to work with you.
#6) I went to California twice. I went to Sacramento in September for TheCall, and then to Azusa in November with a team from IHOPU. Thanks again to everyone who supported me on those trips, you spoke prophetically with your finances into what Jesus is doing in my inner man. I’m eternally appreciative for that.
#7) I failed the Missouri driver’s test three times. It’s not that I’m a bad driver, it’s just that… alright, I’m horrible. Lack of real practice and training are the causes my dad and I cited whilst explaining my third failure to the nice folks at the testing center on Douglas Rd. We’re now waiting on a fax from the Department of Revenue allowing me to re-take the test, again. Hey, at least I have a new year’s resolution for 2011.
#8) I did a semester of TheCall School at IHOPU. Running with a group of people my age, and a few old people, under the leadership of Sam and Brooke Cerny has been the highlight of this fall / winter for me. I love, love, love, the TCI/Strike Force family. Quality guys and gals we’re talking about, most of whom are single. (Apply here.)
One wall that I’ve hit repeatedly in years past is my own personality. Often trying to be prematurely profound, I’ve missed real opportunities to enjoy the present. The truth is, though, there’s no reason to lament the future as if it were past. Matthew 6:34 says it best: tomorrow will worry about itself! It’ll be here eventually, and in the meantime, I’d rather be a confident seventeen with a few profound moments than mishandle my youth by trying to be forty.
Above all, I learned to laugh at myself this year. Where I may’ve taken myself too seriously or been too hard on myself, I learned that it’s okay to be seventeen. It’s a great feeling, really, looking back and realizing, “Even when I was failing, I was doing my best at it.”
I can only pray that this next year follows in the footsteps of 2010. It’s been long and a little terrifying, but like John F. Kennedy at the end the Cuban missile crisis, I’m better prepared for the future than I was beforehand.
*Exhibit A: “It just doesn’t pop. Can you make it pop?”
