Biggest Life Lessons Learned in 2024

Do you get reflective at the end of a year or season of life? I most definitely do! 2024 was our first full year living in Colorado. So much change for our family and adjusting to our new normal. It brought new adventures, sweet memories, some lonely moments, lots of time to think and process, and many lessons learned. It’s hard to narrow it down, but here are my 3 biggest life lessons I learned in 2024. 

Lesson 1: My Plans for My Life, and God’s Plans for My Life Might Look Different 

(Please excuse the pictures of pictures above! We didn’t have digital cameras in the late 90’s!)

I can still remember meeting Scott Peek in 1997. We were both Young Life leaders in the Dallas area. He led 7th grade boys and I led 7th grade girls. He was truly everything I was looking for in a husband! So handsome, hard-working, fun and funny, and most importantly had a deep and steady faith.   We got married in 1999 and immediately moved to Birmingham, Alabama. We lived there for two years and absolutely loved it! It is the quintessential southern city, and we fell in love with it’s charm and hospitality. 

When Scott finished graduate school, we moved back to Dallas and moved into the neighborhood where I grew up. I sincerely thought our future children would go to Lake Highlands area schools and graduate from Lake Highlands high school! 

When our oldest was in first grade, Scott was asked to open a hospital in McKinney Texas, about 30 minutes north of Dallas. I was initially sad about moving, but ended up being at peace with it.  My plans, and God’s plans for me/our family, looked different than I expected. 

I had so much fun building our home in McKinney and we ended up falling in love with the city. We loved our community, church, and  the charming downtown. We made some of our dearest friends- that I know we will have for life- and really loved living there.

Our girls are just one grade apart and when we sent our first off to college, I had a pretty hard time with it. I think I was sad that she was gone and I knew that our other daughter would be leaving us just a year later. 

One evening, my husband and I were sitting at the dinner table, just the two of us, and I could tell something was on his mind. I asked him what was up and he said, “How do you feel about moving to Colorado?”  I immediately said, “I think that is a terrible idea! We just sent one to college are about to send another and I don’t want to live that far away. “ Ha. So much for holding my tongue. 

He asked me to pray about it, and after several interviews, and lots and lots and lots of prayer, we decided God was moving us to the Denver area.  One of the biggest life lessons I learned in 2024, and throughout my life, is that my plans and God’s plans looked different than I expected. 

Lesson 2: Joy and Grief Can Co-Exist

I feel like the older I get, the more I realize that joy and grief can coexist. I wrote a bit about having joy when life is hard in an earlier post. Maybe God is trying to tell me something… There have been so many moments filled with joy over the past year. When I gaze at the beauty of the mountains, no matter what the season, I am filled with joy and complete awe of God and His beautiful creation. I have had many times when I am sitting with my husband and two daughters and I’m just filled with overwhelming joy that God gave me the family I always wanted. Although empty nesting has its challenges, there have been many sweet moments that Scott and I have experienced over the past year.  It’s been fun meeting new friends in Colorado, playing tennis, hiking and investing in BSF bible study and my little business. 

At the same time, I have experienced sadness and grief.   I have thought about- and worked through- some things that have been hard and sad for me. I have missed my dearest friends and family and have had moments where I have felt alone. Side note-I realize that even if I was back in Texas I would have some moments of grief over empty nesting since the girls no longer live under our roof.  That’s a totally normal part of this stage of life. I’ve had grief and sadness while having joy.  Joy and grief can co-exist.

Lesson 3: When You Focus on What You’re Missing, You Miss Out on What God Has Planned For You. 

I feel like my prayer since we moved to Denver has been, “God, I do not want to miss out on what you have planned for us here!” 

If I stop and think about missing friends, the familiarity of Texas, our girls being close to home…I am focusing on what I’m missing instead of the blessings right in front of me.  I have met some really neat people in Colorado.  The weather here is fantastic 90% of the time. My hair looks great in this climate. 😂. The mountains literally never get old. I see them when I going to the grocery store, running errands and of course when we are hiking and skiing. We are less than 3 hours away from our favorite ski mountain, Steamboat. I have had so much fun creating and sharing on southernmtngirl. 

Scott and I have said several times that maybe the reason we’re here has little to do with his work. Maybe we are called to connect with others and love others deeply as Jesus loves us.  Maybe we needed to be pulled away from everything familiar so that we would “just” have each other and God. 

As I look back on the different times in our lives where my plans and God‘s plans were different, I can see his faithfulness every step of the way.  Had we not moved to Birmingham, we wouldn’t have had that time with just the two of us at the start of our marriage. If we hadn’t moved to McKinney, we would’ve missed out on too many blessings to count, and so many special friends that we love deeply. If we hadn’t moved to Denver, I wouldn’t have started Southern Mountain Girl and we would have missed out on the beauty all around us. 

I know I will be able to share so many more blessings of our move to Denver. We might not fully understand right now all the reasons we are here, but we see blessings and joy in it, and trust that God has a good plan for us, our family and our lives! Romans 8:28 says, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Looking Ahead…

So, kind of a deep post- but I felt led to share my 3 (biggest) life lessons I learned in 2024. What have you learned in 2024? So often we learn the most in times of change and trials- at least that has been the truth for me! I love Romans 5:3-5 and 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 that speak to this.

What are your hopes and dreams for 2025?

Scott and I want to be better about taking in the beauty around us. That means more exploring, skiing, hiking and being outside!  We want to be more intentional about connecting with new friends and growing friendships.  I’m excited to see all that is in store for 2025. It’s going to be a great year!

As always- I am grateful for you,

Julie