Thoughts: Hannah's Blog

If I were to sum up this whole year in a single word, it would be “Transitions”. So many changes happened and I am thankful to God for leading me through it all. Let me start from Jan.

From Horeb to Hebron:

I had gone home for maternity (my mom’s house is named as Horeb) for over 7 months and had to come back to Bangalore. I had accumulated so many things! Lots of packing had to be done and mom and grandpa graciously decided to come and help us settle with home, work and everything for few months and so their packing was also done. And we had to travel a long distance on road, we started on the same day that kiddo’s dedication was done. Those were hectic days! By the grace of God we reached safe and sound, all in one piece. The house was in chaos as renovation work had been done before our arrival. It took a few weeks to get all things set and arranged. I’ve always wanted to name our home here, (the temporal abode that God has blessed us with) and we chose the name Hebron, which was a city of refuge in Israel.

From Inexperienced to Experimenting

Those who know me well, know that I don’t like cooking – it’s not that I hate cooking but I never tried maybe – it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I used to make chicken 65 now and then, but that was it. Now that I had the opportunity to experiment, I thought why not? And started trying out stuff – cooking Chicken majorly (Chicken being my favourite). I tried out different recipes from online until I made something I liked. Now I have expanded my horizon – got interested in making snacks like bhajji, onion pakoda and ulunthu vada! Now my latest craze is to try my hand at baking. This transition came as a surprise to me! Sort of discovering some new part of me.

From Swimming to Crawling to Walking to Running

Kids grow up so fast! When we came here, he was just rolling over and sitting with support. Then he didn’t crawl but started sort of swimming around! He did that for full 3 months before starting to crawl properly. He learned to sit without support. He took a few baby steps right before his first birthday and now he is full on a running spree – from one room to the other. Sometimes holds a book right in front of his face and ends up running into people/doors/walls! It was wonderful getting to see him learn things and achieving one milestone after the other. I’m cherishing his childhood days and enjoy his laughs when I do something silly or make some new sounds. He is living proof that my God is a God of miracles, nothing is impossible with Him and that His promises are always true!

From Comfort zone to Completely new

One of the greatest transitions is me shifting companies, that too soon after I joined back from maternity leave. I am not someone who jumps companies, I tend to stay put. This was the company I joined to do my Internship and then continued as employee. God led me wonderfully to this company and he was with me every step of the way, giving me wonderful friends. I will never forget all the coffee chats, the team lunches, outings and all the fun we had. The most fun I had was when I arranged for any fun event or Secret Santa. 🙂 7 bountiful years! Sadly, it had to come to an end. I had no confidence in me or my skills when I started applying for jobs. It was a test for me to trust in God. I struggled with doubts and uncertainty.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. – Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

This verse kept coming at me and I decided to trust God and He opened a door for me – that too the very first door! I was prepping myself for rejections (like how it was during college days) God works differently at different times, it was as if God was pulling me out from one place and pushing me on to the new one. It all happened so fast and so smooth that I can say with confidence that it was the hand of God! Just as he promised at the start of this year, he has made all things new.

From feeling weak to finding Jesus as my strength

Psalm 18 starts with “I love you, Lord, my strength” this has become the psalm of the year for me. Having God as my strength, helped me pass this year. If not for God I wouldn’t be able to sail through. God revealed Himself as my Strength, my Sustainer, my Provider: strengthening, emboldening and enabling me to climb the mountains that came my way. I acknowledge His presence and His grace over my life and once again I thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for all the transitions that happened this year.