Skip to main content

On 2024

2024 has been beautiful and painful, amazing and heartbreaking. I hold tight to the people who have helped me grow, helped me process. At times, I didn't think I'd get to this point. In many ways, 2024 broke me. But, it allowed me to heal in real and (hopefully) lasting ways, too. It opened the door for a perspective that I didn't know I was capable of. I was able to build on improved communication skills, looking at things through a Biblical lens, realizing that the majority of the people in my life are not trying to intentionally hurt me. Perhaps this has been the biggest win for me in 2024, or maybe it's that and the fact that even still, it is okay that I'm sensitive. I feel deeply and sometimes have a hard time with those feelings. But, those feelings, coupled with being sensitive, have allowed me to develop deep friendships and relationships, to be truly present, even from miles apart.

I don't know what the next 12 months will bring, but regardless, I think I'll be okay. God is still on the throne, in control of it all, and somehow He has allowed amazing people to be in my life, and though that group seems so small at times, I am incredibly grateful for each and every one.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

On 2025

 In 2025, fear and frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty have crept in. I’ve struggled with trusting God during the hard and scary moments. Even still, He is faithful. When I’ve had questions, I’ve heard no audible response, but I am comforted by His quiet strength and reassurance. He remains on the throne and none of what has or will happen to Jessica Dineen is a surprise to Him. I am thankful for my quiet time with Him, reading His Word, pleading for guidance and wisdom. God is in control, His time may not be mine, but somehow He will work everything out. Along the way, I reman immeasurably blessed by the people in my life. I have a loving family, deep friendships, a fulfilling career, and so many other things. Even in the hard, I remain rich with all that is good in my life. Here’s to a 2026 blessed by God in a way that only He can.

On This Messy Life

 I recently learned of a young woman who intentionally drove her power wheelchair into the lake in Edinboro. This woman, not much older than myself, whom I did not know, has been on my mind nonstop. I suppose it is because of the parallels in our lives: age, cerebral palsy, Edinboro, some of the same interests, etc. It's haunting in many, many ways. My heart breaks for her and her family. The demons of life must have been too much, but I pray that she knew Jesus, for now she is resting in His arms- able to walk and move freely without the struggles of disability. If I could talk to her, I think this is what I would say: As you were wheeling around Edinboro that day, I wish someone could have known you needed to be heard. Did you have an opportunity to call someone? Did you send a text message to a friend? As the pressures of life boiled over, could you feel His presence surround you? With your last breath, with your last thought, did you want to fight? I'm sorry that you felt a...

On Giving Thanks in Everything

One of my very favorite authors wrote a book in the last few years on the four wills of God. One of those is based on 1 Thessalonians 5:18- Give thanks in everything. This can be a foreign concept for most.  As 2025 showed to me, it was a near impossible to give thanks for the year that unfolded. But, God. He was faithful, He was always there, despite the uncertainty. 2026 came, and I was tired of trusting, tired of giving thanks. But God. He reminded me that His timing is not my own. March 2025 to April 2026 may have been the toughest year plus of my life, a culmination of several bad years. It was a gentle reminder of that very principle that I have tried to live by- Give thanks in everything. Now I find myself wanting to doubt Him once again. Does He really know what He’s doing? Is this a cruel  joke? I don’t know how all of these challenges will end, I don’t know when, I can’t say with certainty that the worst is behind us in this trying time. But, I do know that God comma...