Loved and Wanderlust
  • Home
  • About
  • Travels
  • Lifestyle
  • Expat Life
  • Videos
453 Likes
0 Followers
Subscribe
Loved and Wanderlust
Loved and Wanderlust
  • Home
  • About
    • About Me
    • Contact
    • Our Love Story: #teamGeLai
  • Travels
    • Africa
      • Morocco
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • Hong Kong
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Macau
      • Malaysia
      • Myanmar
      • Philippines
        • Bulacan
        • Davao
        • Palawan
        • Pampanga
        • Tagaytay
      • Singapore
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Bosnia and Herzegovina
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • France
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • Italy
      • Montenegro
      • Netherlands
      • Portugal
      • Slovenia
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • Travel Guides
  • Lifestyle
    • All Things Happy
    • Food and Dining
    • Thoughts Journal
    • Soul Food
    • Tech, Blogging & Social Media
  • Expat Life
    • Life in New Zealand
    • Life in Singapore
    • Expat Thoughts
  • Videos
  • Soul Food
  • Thoughts Journal

Looking Back at 2013

  • Jan 17, 2014
  • No comments
  • 3 minute read
  • Melai
loved-and-wanderlust
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
0

About the same day last year, I claimed that 2013 is going to be a really great year for me. And now looking back at the year that was, I didn’t expect that it’d work like magic spell!

Actually, most of the things I planned at the start of the year didn’t happen… like reading more (finished only 4 books, 5 in-progress), blogging often (which was pushed aside), traveling to China (that got canceled) and South Korea (never booked), finding a new job (without a chance), and keeping up with my target savings (boo!).

I started out strong but lost direction along the way. I felt saturated with all the deadlines, responsibilities, busy schedules and late night work. I was already running low on self-esteem then, to the point that I decided to throw away everything I’ve begun here in Singapore and go back home. I almost gave up…

…until God picked me up and took over. He fought my battles. He made me realized why things did not happen MY way. Like a movie, He unraveled the twists and turns, and revealed the bigger picture piece by piece.

As quoted from Steve Maraboli, “As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed into something better.”

…and I couldn’t agree more!


MY 7 HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2013


I failed. Yep, I am celebrating my failure. Because failures are chances to learn and to grow. It’s kind-of disheartening, but it is a great teacher. We only really fail if we don’t learn something.

I traveled. We went to short trips in Penang, Bali and Boracay. It wasn’t major trips for me but still equally special as I was with family and close friends. As quoted from a painting I saw before, “It was a quality day, and one quality day is worth more than ten casual encounters.”

I got engaged. Goosebumps! That feeling when the world suddenly slows down and you’re at loss for words. I wonder how those girls in the movies instantly say yes! Me? I took hours, no, DAYS! Of course, it’s a major life decision eh!

I got married. Even if it took me days, I still said YES! Wuhoo! I am forever married to the person God personally chose and gave me.

I met my first spiritual family. It’s amazing how God directs us to beautiful people whom we can share our lives with. I’m blessed to have them as role models in putting Christ at the center of everything first. I wish I didn’t make so many excuses and showed up earlier.

I attended Victory Weekend and got baptized as a Christian. This experience was so liberating. It feels so good to be able throw everything in the open – my failures, my mistakes, my past hurts, my insecurities, my fears, my sins – then, start as a new being, saved and made righteous by Christ.

I experienced a rapid growth as a person. Though there were a couple of major things that didn’t go well this year, I was reminded of my priorities. We can’t be successful in our careers, and suck at other aspects of our lives. It has to be balance. I learned to dream fearlessly, to have more faith in myself, because I am deeply loved by Him. And it’s just a matter of time before things change in my favor.


There you go! 2013 was a huge year for me. There’s faith and growth, healing and forgiveness, freedom and breakthroughs. It’s so overwhelming to really experience Him take control of my destiny. My plans did not happen at all, but knowing that God’s plans did, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Not all things happen the way we imagine them to be, but it leads us to something better, sometimes even greater, things we didn’t even know possible.

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Expat Thoughts
  • inspiration
  • new year
  • year in review
Melai

Melai is a twenty-something Filipina expat living in Singapore who is passionate about traveling, experiencing new things and witnessing God’s work first-hand. ♥

Previous Article
  • Soul Food

Water Baptism – A New Life in Christ

  • Oct 27, 2013
  • Melai
View Post
Next Article
  • Thoughts Journal

2013: THE YEAR IN INSTAGRAM

  • Jan 21, 2014
  • Melai
View Post
You May Also Like
melbourne australia
View Post
  • Expat Life
  • Soul Food
  • Thoughts Journal

We moved to Melbourne!

  • Melai
  • Feb 20, 2018
auckland sky tower
View Post
  • Expat Life
  • Thoughts Journal

Life Lately // Summer in Auckland

  • Melai
  • Dec 31, 2017
cappadocia turkey sunrise
View Post
  • Thoughts Journal

2017 Travel Recap: Instagram Edition

  • Melai
  • Dec 31, 2017
2016 travel recap
View Post
  • Thoughts Journal

2016 Travel Recap: Instagram Edition

  • Melai
  • Dec 31, 2016
european roadtrip
View Post
  • All Things Happy
  • Thoughts Journal

European Roadtrip 2016

  • Melai
  • Dec 4, 2016
annecy-france
View Post
  • Soul Food
  • Thoughts Journal

Finding the Courage to Get Lost in Adventures

  • Melai
  • Sep 30, 2016
third world passport
View Post
  • Thoughts Journal

The Truth About Traveling in a Third World Passport

  • Melai
  • Aug 18, 2016
iceland reykjavik harpa
View Post
  • Thoughts Journal

Life Lately

  • Melai
  • Aug 1, 2016

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Let’s Pin Together!
Follow Melai Campilla's board Blog | Loved and Wanderlust on Pinterest.
About
Loved and Wanderlust
Celebrating everyday adventures

Input your search keywords and press Enter.