Welcome to the New Year

Reflecting on January 2024

Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash

Hello, my friends! First, let me say a hearty "Welcome!" to my new subscribers. In Japanese, you would say it いらしゃいませ, pronounced irashaimase! I recently posted about me falling head first into the art of amigurumi (where you make stuffed animals from yarn) on Substack. Something in the algorithm snatched up that post, and a whopping 130 people liked it.

If we were to put this in “real-life terms,” we could imagine that I was in my office at my job, and 120 people came by and gave me a thumbs up, and some also said something about it. That’s wild to me. I was not expecting that on the 2025 bingo board, but I'll take it! Because of that exposure, I have several new subscribers! Thank you for joining us! I hope you enjoy it here.

We are nearing the end of the first month of the year. The fact that I'm writing that makes me feel odd. Not long ago, I was writing down my goals for the New Year, filled with enthusiasm and excitement for what I could anticipate from 2025.

The Lord has been very gracious to me in giving me a wonderful start to the year. I started my internship for my Masters program and have been enjoying the process as I interact with my remote students. My Japanese studies have been a joy, even though I am confused about why you would count books differently than you would count cake. I’ve also been reading in my downtime and have posted several book reviews on my Substack to help me stay accountable. I’m finalizing two reviews at the moment, so if you're curious to see what I've been reading, I would love it if you could check out the posts!

The beginning of the year has gotten off to a great start. I will not hesitate to mention that there are some goals that I'm behind on, specifically one to exercise every day. That tends to slip each year when I get especially busy with school and my full-time job, but I told myself that once the sun doesn't set as early and it's not so cold in the evenings, I would get out and be determined to get running.

I tend to reminisce and reflect quite a bit and I found myself thinking about how the year went last year. 2024 began with a bumpy start, but now that I see it from the view of 2025, I'm thankful for it. There are a few things that I learned from that first month, as well as the rest of the year, honestly.

2024 started off with me waking up one morning and getting ready for work that day. When I put on my glasses, the bridge connecting my two lenses together snapped in a way that was irreparable. I couldn't pull the nerdy look by taping the bridge together. No amount of superglue or tape would fix this one. I didn't have an extra pair (an issue that has happened two other times and yet I still hadn't learned), so the only thing I could do was wear contacts.

I live in a dry, windy area, and my eyes are naturally somewhat dry. I had decided not to wear contacts when I moved out here, knowing that I would be annoyed with the constant dry, itchy feeling. I would have to resign myself to such a thing until I could order new glasses, but the process would take a little longer since I needed to make sure my prescription hadn't changed.

So began the adventure of getting new glasses. Strap in, folks, it gets bumpy.

A few days after finding my glasses broken, I went to the dentist. I couldn't remember the last time I had been, which meant it was high time for me to go. The other indication was how sensitive my teeth felt during the holidays as I tried to eat sweets and all the yummy things that one can enjoy during the Christmas season.

I was remiss to find out that I needed to have seven fillings. Not one or two. Seven. On top of that, one of my molars had been chipped, and that little exposed bit had turned into a cavity so problematic that I would need to have a root canal.

I could see my money flying out the window, saying "Sayonara!" as it left. I was in a bad mood, frustrated by my "Rebekah Luck" that brought me to this place.

I ended up maxing out my dental coverage in two visits because of the amount of dental work that they had to do on my teeth. Missed work reminded me of the time I had to take off for optometrist appointments and dentist appointments when I had been so enthusiastic to get some great work done.

I ended up being able to book an appointment with an optometrist who was in the next town (about a 15-minute drive) and was excited to see that they offered same-day exams and eyeglass fitting! "Wonderful!" I said, "No more itchy eyes for me!" At this point, I had rubbed my eyes raw to the point that the skin around my eyes would burn when I washed my face in the evenings.

Let me take this moment to let you know that when you read the ads that say "Same-Day Exam and Eyeglass Fitting," it does not mean that you will get glasses the same day you get your exam. Instead, it means that you can purchase glasses in a specific section for a discounted price and in a shorter time. Just a heads up, in case the same thing happens to you.

So, begrudgingly, I waited for my call from the optometrist, letting me know that my glasses were ready to pick up. After about a week of waiting, I got a call at work during the week of revival meetings my church was hosting. The office told me that my glasses were finally ready. I enthusiastically jumped into my car after work and drove to the next town over to pick up my glasses, taking the shortest route on a long stretch of road that was known for being a little chaotic because of the way it’s set up with several intersections that don't have lights.

As I was getting closer to my turn, I noticed a line of cars in one of these intersections that didn't have a light. A Mustang was the first in line, but a silver truck was starting to leave the turn lane to move around the Mustang. Those intersections that don't have lights take forever to wait at since you have to wait for the right moment to cross without moving into oncoming traffic. I suppose that the driver in this truck didn't want to wait anymore, so he decided to move around the car in front of him to rush to wherever his next location was.

The only unfortunate detail that he failed to realize was that my car was headed at a startling pace, and while I was trying to slow down and swerve to miss him, there was only so much that I could do on a 65 MPH road. The front right bumper of my car collided with the back right bumper of his truck, and the collision sent me into the turn lane, smashing right into the Mustang and sending the Mustang back into the car behind him. It was a four-car collision, and it completely totaled my car.

Behold, Yuki, a 2007 Honda Pilot that served its purpose.

I believe that if I had been driving a car any smaller, I would not be here to write this reflection. I say this because, on the same road, just a few months later, a family in my church was driving on the road in a smaller car when they got in an awful accident with two fatalities.

While I was shaken up from the whole ordeal, as I had never been in a car accident before, I found that I had no bruises and no cuts. I called my parents, who came and gave me support and a ride back home. My body was extremely sore and stiff the next day, and I had slight bruising on my shoulder from the seatbelt doing a phenomenal job at keeping me safe.

The Lord had been gracious to spare me from a horrible accident. It gave me a true reality check. While I was frustrated about the money I was spending on my dentist bills and my glasses, I also had to add a new car to the list. Even though I had no clue where the funds were coming from, I knew that the Lord kept me safe.

The great thing about the Lord's grace is that it is inexhaustible. Even when I was frustrated and sometimes angry about what was going on in my life in the first 30 days of the year, I could not deny that my life could have ended on January 30, 2024, and that would have been it.

Yet I'm here, writing this. I'm here, grateful for another day of work. I'm here, working toward finishing my Masters. I can't help but think that the Lord has something in mind for me that I haven't done yet.

There were times in 2024 when I didn't appreciate that fact, but now that I'm looking back on it, a new sense of awe fills me. The Lord wants to use me for something great. I can't waste my time with anxiety over what may and may not happen in my life. Sure, I'll wait for the Lord and ask for His will as he leads me, but I know that there are desires He has specifically given me. I need to work towards fulfilling those desires. Reflecting on this year, I've decided that I don't want to waste any of the time that He has been good to give to me.

I've made several decisions knowing this. One of these things that I don't want to hesitate about anymore is making spiritual changes for my well-being. I want to be faithful in my Bible reading, and I want to keep the Spirit guiding me in my life.

Another decision is to jump into the talents and abilities that God has given me. I want to study well, even if it means needing to stay up late. I want to put myself out there, even when it may be awkward.

One of the things that I'm currently writing is a fantasy short story collection, something that has been living in my mind ever since last spring. I always felt too intimidated to try something like this. I decided that I wanted to break through the intimidation and write it, even when I didn’t know what I was doing. It's been a joy to go, "I kinda want to write this in the story!" so I do! I love each of my characters because of it.

I want to create things and pour time into each endeavor. I want to stay faithful to my responsibilities. I want to live the life that God wants me to live. I want to please Him and show others His love. I want to be a person who is so comfortable with who she is as an individual and who she is made to be so that others feel comfortable with who they are as an individual and who they are made to be.

It's been an enjoyable journey so far, and I'm thrilled to see what happens this year. Yes, there will be times when 2025 isn't as fantastic all the time, but the Lord's mercies will still be there to meet me.

There's growth, and what's even better is that I can see it. Just a few days ago, the alternator in my car went out. Instead of being stressed out about the finances, like I was last year, or frustrated at the return of the "Rebekah Luck," I reminded myself that God had supplied a car for me last year. He gave me the funds I needed for my classes and the ability to do well in those classes. He will surely be with me and help me this year.

This journey has been lovely, and it's nowhere near over. I hope you'll join me in the process. Share with me how your year is going! Is there something you're looking forward to? I'd love to hear.

Keep it up, friends. Know that I'll be cheering for you too.