Where has the time gone? Entering 2024 having just conquered another running milestone of over 100 miles and still hobbling in pain, I planned to dedicate more time to pursuing tasks beneficial to others. Not sure why I took so long to do so, but I began volunteering at my church straightaway in various capacities.

The Billy Graham Library! Such an inspiration!

During work, when not on the phone with candidates, I would play in the background sermons and teachings of the Bible from trustworthy pastors and the Bible audio reading, in addition to daily Bible study from home, as I desire nothing more than to serve my God and follow His commands, decrees, and will by immersing myself wholeheartedly in His Word. I prayed that all of my thoughts and decisions, big or small, be grounded in Scripture. Sometime early in the year, I became fascinated by one of Billy Graham’s sermons, which led me to watch repeatedly all of his sermons and interviews I could find on YouTube and visit the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, where I purchased and quickly finished his book The Reason for My Hope: Salvation, followed by more books (not counting other genres) that helped me dive more deeply in the Bible, recently More Than a Carpenter by Josh and Sean McDowell and Tim Keller’s Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God and, currently, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God. The second to last walks the reader thoroughly through the Gospel of Mark, neat considering my church spent all year on the same and I could tell my pastor drew a lot of inspiration from Pastor Keller. I have been reading (and raised in) the Bible my entire life, more intensely for the past decade up to several hours a day, but through these spiritual giants I learned countless interpretations I had not considered previously.

In May, I took off two weeks to visit family in Korea, short but efficient. I hope to more regularly travel to my home country, as I often feel guilty constantly being so far away from my loved ones.

I resumed racing, albeit likely my days of destroying my body to accomplish a goal had come to an end, completing a couple of ultras, three half marathons, a couple of nearly 7 milers, and even a 5K.

At work, due to the economy, everything remained frozen. Securing number one on the leaderboard every single week I worked just like the year prior, including weeks when I worked only a couple of days, as well as a “Top Recruiter Award” every month, I toward the end submitted several PTO requests, justifying to myself that I had done enough for my employer for the year, likely quadruple the next top performers, especially with all of my quarterly bonuses being slashed and consequently making less than last year and never being mentioned for a promotion. Having remained patient for a couple of years since the acquisition trying to be understanding of the market, at times I was irritated, as I could not comprehend how the company made these decisions that appeared so arbitrary in spite of the availability of objective data, then I reminded myself not to think on worldly terms and prayed His will be done, that if this is wrong in His sight, present me with a new opportunity that I will not miss. After all, as the Apostle Paul instructs us in Colossians 3:23-24, whatever I do, I work at it with all my heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since I know that I will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ I am serving.

I feel nothing but joy and gratitude toward my Father for His love, grace, and mercy and taking care of me and my family another year. I only pray that I continue to walk with Him faithfully as He goes before me and remains with me. Happy New Year!