Written by Valentina Tollick

05/04/2009
17:12

Well, I haven't written nything here for a while, and alot of things have changed since then. Life is very different: New home, new church, new husband, new city, new university course... If anyone had told me just 2 years ago how different my life would be now to then (or how similar depeninding on the angle) I wouldn;t have believed them. It's amazing how God works in people's lives, especially (from my perspective) mine! 2 years ago, I was deciding what to do after I finished my degree in Fashion Design, I was pretty decided on youth work, but didn't quite know how to go about that. I didn't quite know what type of youth work that would be, I just knew that actually I wasn't called into the world of fashion. In actual fact, I had an inkling of this before I started the course, at the end of Camp C that year I remember speaking to Emyr about whether I was meant to do design or not.

So, I guess here, the best idea is to backtrack a bit...

Ages 19, I was just finishing my year out before university at Newport, embarking on a life as Fashion Designer extraordinaire! I had fought against what people expected of me to do both the gap year and the degree of my choice, with the majority of people trying to persuade me to go straight to university, or (in the case of my mother) to do an English degree. I had also fought and continued to fight against people's perceptions of my relationship at the time, and become the stong woman I am still today. So to doubt that I was going to do Fashion was a huge thing, something that I didn't put much prayer into, I decided to go for it and see what happened.

So, 2 years ago, with a clear idea of what I didn't want to do (Design) and a vague idea of what I was called to (youth work) I decided to complete my degree to the best of my ability and then explore the options. This time, my decisions were based on prayer and seeking God's will, and led to another year out, this time productively, doing youth work, and finding out about the CYM course. Oh and at the same time, I fell in love, with a godly man who I am now married to! In the space of the past two years, I have learnt many lessons, about who I am with God, I have experienced emotional and physical healing, I have embarked on a second degree to qualify as a youth worker, I have become a married woman, I've left home, and Wales! I've been baptised, moved churches, made new friends, learnt to forgive the people who hurt me the most. I also learnt to rely on God for my provision, and now He has provided in abundance, through the job He provided for Nick.

So, what is my point from all this?

I guess its that while God has shown me many things, and I have grown in Him, that growth is continual, and happens daily, with each reminder that I am on a journey, one that won't be complete until the day that I stand in front of my God, at home with Him. Life is full of learning and surprises and twists that are completely unexpected and yet perfectly in line with the rest of the journey, and I am thankful that I get to share this journey with God, with my husband, and with the friends and family I have around me. We'll see where it leads...