Celebrating a Year of Blogging + Looking Back on 2023

Exactly a year ago, I took the first step of a journey that has brought me to this little celebration. Thirty-four articles and 40k words later, I’ve finished my first year of blogging.

Honestly, I can’t believe it has already been this long. It feels like just moments ago that I crossed the starting line.

My blog had a sudden beginning: A decision that I made in a matter of minutes one random afternoon, and the words that then flowed out of my heart when I sat down to write the first post.

Behind my sudden decision lies the string of events that inspired me. I’ve shared my testimony on here many times, but now I have a few more before-it-all-started memories to share.

You could say it all started with the stories my four-year-old self would write using Crayola markers and papers stapled together. Or maybe it all started with the full mile my sixth-grade self finally finished around the neighborhood park.

Or perhaps it all started the summer after eighth grade, when I came out of a particularly hard time in my life.

But most likely, it all started in the freshman year to follow. Yes. It all started with a Bible study book, a prayer I quickly forgot, and the verse I chose for the year 2023.

See, I’ve been part of the Awana program at my church for a long time. Last year, the theme for the Bible study book was witnessing. Witnessing, that thing which I had never done and couldn’t imagine doing and felt too scared to do…

That thing which I still haven’t done. At least not in the sense of sitting down with someone and having the conversation about becoming a Christian.

The talk about witnessing made me realize something: I had a testimony, and I wanted to share it, because there could be other people out there facing the same struggles. And maybe, just maybe, God could use me to encourage them.

Maybe I could help them run a little more free.

That became my prayer–To be able to share my story with others. To encourage them with it.

And for some reason, I had a feeling the answer would involve running.

I forgot about that prayer almost instantly, but God never did. And that’s how I’m here, sharing my story with all of you.

Around the new year, I chose Isaiah 52:7 as my verse for 2023.

“How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
    who publishes salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

~Isaiah 52:7

Something about it drew my attention. I could be like this messenger, living out this same mission, bringing words of hope.

Only I didn’t know how to do that.

Until a few days later, with my sudden decision to start off 2023 with a blog. From there, all the pieces came together.

The imagery at the verse’s beginning resonates with me as a cross-country runner, but I also resonate with another part: The use of the word “publishes.”

As a writer, I’ve published these articles in the hopes that they would point readers to Christ.

To be honest, at first I felt terrified to share my words. I was so scared that no one would read them, or no would like them…

But then I noticed that Isaiah 52:7 doesn’t mention this messenger proclaiming his words to an adoring crowd. In context, “Zion” refers to Israel, a nation in desperate need of hope.

Haven’t we all been there before, longing for a little hope?

But sometimes I like to think of Zion as being the mountain. Just a mountain, and nothing more.

Because what if this messenger were proclaiming his words to the mountains? Perhaps praising God in the solitude and the silence?

The mountains would never speak back, yet his mission would still be called “beautiful.”

Because people’s praise has never mattered.

And even if I had to settle for the quietness of mountains, the Creator of the mountains would still hear my words.

And He would still see my heart.

I wanted to seek His heart first.

Still, I’m grateful for all the readers that I’ve had the blessing to encourage. Every comment or message about my words giving someone a little hope–That points me back to why I’m doing all of this in the first place.

I had a feeling the answer to that forgotten prayer would somehow involve running. And now, I’ve shared my story with a community of runners a lot like myself–many of them even cross-country and track runners, but all of them running this race of life.

Thanks for running this race with me, my reader.

I hope I’ve reminded you of the freedom in Christ, the purpose in the journey, and the joy waiting at the finish line.

Looking back and looking ahead

2023 had its disappointments, but it also had its beautiful moments. And the darker parts certainly helped the light shine a little brighter, you know?

This year went by incredibly fast. I’ve shared many of the best parts somewhere in the pages of this blog.

While I’ve struggled this year a little more than I’d like to admit, God gave me more strength than I could have ever expected. I couldn’t have discovered it for myself without those moments of feeling like the world was closing in on me.

My weakness made room for His perfect strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).

2023 ended with a stack of unreached goals. I started the year as a much faster, stronger runner than I am right now.

But right now, I’m a stronger person with a stronger faith.

So maybe those unreached goals don’t even matter. Or maybe they do matter, but in a different way.

The unreached goals are what taught me to just endure, because there’s joy set before me. To wait patiently, because tomorrow will come soon enough. And to please God before people, because His love means everything.

The unreached goals are what taught me to remember. To remember that the fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, remember that God keeps His promises in the wilderness, remember to look up at the stars and realize that there’s more than what’s under the sun.

The stars shine the brightest in the desert and in the darkness.

Yes, the harder parts of this year allowed the best parts to shine a little brighter.

Just like my weakness helped me see a little more of God’s strength.

That brings me back to the message of this blog. We can leave every weight at the foot of the cross, because Jesus’ sacrifice is enough to give us freedom. God’s grace is enough to give us salvation.

And His strength is enough to keep us going down life’s road.

What if our unreached goals could be a testament of how we’re free from having to measure up in this life? What if our unreached goals could be a reminder of growth and progress over success and perfection?

As we set new goals for 2024 and dream up destinations for the end of next December, let’s remember to enjoy the journey.

And let’s remember to run free.

I’m so excited for another year of blogging, running, and life.