Gracie Girl Blog

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

Psalm 46:5

2025 was a year that looks a lot like survival mode to me when I look back on it. A year of high highs and low lows. It began with me without a job, without new friends, and still settling into Colorado. It ended with me in a new apartment just before my 1 year anniversary of living in Colorado, almost a year into my job, and with a ton of new friends – whom were the reason for my move into the city from the ‘burbs.

Instead of a full year recap, I want to focus on the last quarter of the year that stretched me in many ways. If I were to throw a label on it, I’d say 2025 is the year I asked for help. In little and big ways, it’s a constant lesson for me that we are not meant to do life alone, nor does God plan in that way. It seems to me, He plans to constantly cross our paths with the people we need, when we need them. Whether or not we have the courage to reach out, is up to us.

We also aren’t meant to live life outside of dependance on God – a lesson I am continually relearning. As someone who considers herself hyper-independent, I’m constantly fighting my human nature on this one. Anyway, let me take you through what the last 3 months of 2025 held for me…

1. Sold the Mazda 😦 My 2 big things I knew I needed to focus on after my 25th birthday were a) Getting a new car before winter and b) finding and moving into a new apartment. The car came first and although I did not want to give up my little blue car that’s been with me through so much, I bit the bullet and got a Tacoma. It took 3 hours of purgatory at the dealership, what felt like endless tears (once I thought I was done crying about it…I wasn’t), and involving my dad in the negotiations (as expected). I’ve always wanted a truck, and Tacomas have a great reputation. Even though it was so hard to give up the Mazda, I love the truck and went into winter much less anxious about driving in the snow. This is very necessary because unlike Virginia, Colorado does not shut down for snow and you are very much expected to show up to work when it’s snowing!
2. My closest coworker, and the person I shared most of my job with, was unexpectedly fired while I was on PTO. This was completely left field and I suddenly found myself as the longest standing member in the accounting department less than a year into my job. I therefore became and still am the point person for a lot of things. Coworker shifts (I learned) are weird because it really throws in your face decisions about how personal your friendship was and do you want to continue it outside of the office? I was forced to ask for help as we were extremely busy going into the end of the year. Thankfully, my manager is so supportive and helpful and we definitely bonded through the whole experience.
3. The same week that happened at work, I signed a lease on an apartment in the city. I’d been looking for about a month, and was less than a month out from needing to move. Prices went down the closer you got to a move-in date, so I felt like I was weighing that against the risk of losing the apartment. Thankfully, the price went down on an apartment enough that I felt confident it was the right next place. I now live in the Sloan’s Lake area of Denver on the very west side of the city.
4. My community group and church friends helped me move which was so kind and made the process go by extremely quick. This, again, was a challenging of my hyper-independence as I don’t like asking for help, especially from people I’m not extremely close with. However, it was really cool realizing I moved out here with just the help of my childhood friend Caroline, and now have a whole community. I now live much farther from work, but closer to my church and friends which is great. I’m still adjusting to city life (and wondering if I’ll ever fully adjust), but my apartment is nice and cozy and I’m thankful to have gotten in before winter.
5. I stayed in Colorado again for Thanksgiving to spend it with the Colorado Farmelos. Given I had just moved, it was nice to not be traveling that weekend and take time to settle in, although it’s always hard when everyone else is at home.
6. The last few weeks of the year were thankfully chill on the work front. I went to Turks and Caicos with the fam the week before Christmas. It’s funny because we were supposed to do something the five of us in the summer that didn’t work out and therefore we scheduled this trip. God just knew I’d need it because it was the perfect time for a vacation after a stressful fall. I worked from home a few days before Christmas (my first Christmas season working which actually felt like a blessing), and flew back to Denver the weekend before New Years.
7. The name of the game the week of New Years was (And kind of still is) “don’t get the flu.” It feels like I’ve been narrowly escaping it since Christmas. And because Christmas was a busy social time for me, I took the days off work after New Years to tap into my inner hobbit and do some artistic projects I hadn’t felt like I had the time and space to do until then.

That brings us just about up to now! January really hit the ground running at work as well as in my social circles planning hangouts and trips this upcoming year. Somedays, Denver still feels new. Other days, it’s crazy to me how familiar it feels. I think my biggest takeaway from 2025 is that God can do anything in the span of a year, and I am so thankful for what He’s done and is still doing.

No eye has seen a God besides you. Who acts for those who wait for him.

Isaiah 64:46b