I shall always remember the year 2008.
Always.
Because 2008 was the year I had to grow up.



When 2009 took over, I felt as though I had to leave a significant piece of me behind. I didn't realize how strong a hold 2008 had on me until the clock struck twelve. And then came the finality, in a wink of an eye. The struggles, the burdens, the pain, the victory, the hope... I had to let them go.

It was not like I was consciously holding on to them everyday. Actually, I wasn't at all. I thought I'd gotten over them. That night, though, it was as though everything re-emerged as a bubble that swelled until its maximum hold -- and burst. And then it's no more. The water is calm again.

On the first of January last year, God gave me a verse -
"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37

It may seem a common verse, even to me; but at that time, I knew that it was rhema. So I clung to that promise from God. And do you know what? In the span of one year, that verse was spoken to me 8 times. 8 times. The last time was on Christmas Day itself, by Pastor Nelson, and in Indonesian, no less. It was through that verse that God helped me, even when I didn't realize I needed it.

Perhaps God is preparing me beforehand for something great to come. What I know is that in the past year, I have personally seen God do wonders. They were not great miracles; they were miracles of the heart and spirit. I now know for sure that nothing is indeed impossible for God.

It is at this moment that I am truly ready to say goodbye to the year that was 2008. You have given me so much. My life has become four-dimensional and multi-colored. It's time to add to the colors with what 2009 has in store.

Goodbye, 2008. Thank you.