I've been thinking about this post for weeks now and I predicted that I would be prepared and know EXACTLY what to write, but the truth is I don't. There's just so many things I could talk about but I wouldn't know where to start.
I guess a good beginning is to say that I am not the same Karina coming out of 2010 as I was coming in to 2010. And that this blog post is going to be me, being completely honest, a lot of it is going to be rambling but I hope you stick with me.
The start of the year I was in a relationship which was going pretty well so far, it also lead me to Brisbane, where I spent roughly four months of this year. During my time in Brisbane I grew a little bit more independent. I had quickly learned that Centrelink are sometimes really difficult to deal with, I spent a lot of time not being able to support myself, which meant I had to learn to be reliant on others during some of my time there. I am so thankful for all the people that gave me a place to stay, fed me or gave me lifts in their cars.
But there are a lot of good memories from my time spent living in Brisbane, I made friends with people I now call my second family, even now after all the things that have come to pass I still treasure them and will be spending a lot of my time in the future with them, God willingly. I had discovered that youth work has a secured place in my heart, and through that I am now reaching towards a career in that something that I feel most deeply passionate about. I had the privilege a few times to discover God's beauty in nature, I got to climb through some stunning waterfalls in Mt Tamborine, watched gorgeous sunsets and got to see lots of wildlife just sitting in scrub not too far from suburbia. A lot of these things I don't have in Adelaide and I'm glad I got experience them.
At the beginning of true winter in Brisbane I discovered that even though I had a heck of support from people around me, I still felt incredibly homesick for Adelaide and living in Brisbane was proving to be more difficult financially, as I unfortunately discovered. So late May I packed my bags and flew home to the loving arms of Adelaide, my friends, my family and my church. In course of that, my relationship, with the one that held out his hand and asked "come with me", fell a part and that is something I struggled with for months. I can't say if it's good or bad that it happened, that I'm now a stronger woman in God or that I've actually now lost hope in love happening to me, but it happened and it's just something that made Karina the person she is now. I hope in due time I find that love can happen for me again.
The last half of the year seems like a real blur to me. Possibly because I was trying to regain the pieces of my life after it was shattered again and again, or it might have been because I felt like I had no real direction, or it's possible that I felt completely alone. All I know is that I'm here now and somehow I made it through these past six or so months. I got to go back to Brisbane for a short time to visit friends that were previously mentioned, the change in weather from Adelaide's dreary winter to Brisbane's sunshine couldn't have come at a better time. Though the trip was also a bit of a mess at times, I enjoyed it and it was good to be with those friends again.
I sound like a bit of a broken record, but all of this, ALL of this stuff that happened to me this year... I can say that I am thankful that I was brought through it. I am thankful for what 2010 did to me.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7)
Here I come, 2011.
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