Hi friends, Abby here! Long time no see. 🖤 A new decade is here! So much life has happened in the 2010’s for me! I wanted to kick this decade off by sharing a little recap with all of you as well as a bit of encouragement as we step into 2020! 2010 - My sophomore year of high school. I worked (again) at Cooperstown Bible Camp & began leading worship at youth group. I felt called by God to pursue music & ministry & be who He made me to be. 2011 - I began studying voice with Maria Williams & performed as a singer for the first time. To overcome my stage fright I sang at any event I could possibly find. I also began writing songs this year! 2012 - I graduated high school & performed in my final dance recital, orchestra & jazz band concerts, etc & held a senior piano & voice recital. That fall I started college at UND. Rocco became my 1st boyfriend & I knew I had found my husband! 2013 - I declared my major, became a worship leader for Chi Alpha, & joined UND’s Concert Choir. & was crowned Miss Grand Forks, a dream come true! 2014 - I placed top 3 at Miss North Dakota, my first state pageant! I started teaching Zumba classes at UND’s Wellness Center. I was also crowned Miss Kittsona & created my ministry platform, Born To Shine. Rocco began his pro hockey career. 2015 - I recorded my debut EP, “You Are Free.” WE GOT ENGAGED! 2016 - I student taught & graduated with a Music Education degree. I became Mrs Grimaldi, honeymooned in the Bahamas, & then we moved to LA, Denver, & San Antonio. I recorded my Christmas album, “Christmas Time Is Here” & taught fitness classes at LifeTime Fitness. 2017 - We moved 3 more times. I battled through a terrible year, but it developed my faith & character. I sang at my first NBA & AHL games, & Rocco & I went on an amazing trip to Italy! 2018 - The start of this year was the darkest, most hopeless time in my life, but it really picked up! We started our new life (in a hotel) in Nashville! The wonderful team & fanbase embraced us as we entered into a new season of life, one we were so grateful for after many years of patience & perseverance. 2019 - We moved out of the hotel after 5 months & into an apartment in Nashville. I watched my husband become a full-time NHL player. I wrote the best music of my life & started a YouTube channel. Rocco re-signed with Nashville & we moved into our 1st (rented town)home... & finally bought furniture! I finished my first official cover-to-cover Bible read-through. My beloved Grandfather James Mattson went to Heaven & I grieved his loss with many tears. Still do, but he is forever in my heart & memory. Rocco & I went to Dallas for the NHL Winter Classic game. Oh, & I finally saw the Jonas Brothers!!! Best night of my life, Rocco is an amazing husband. Hahaha So much has happened in the past decade! I changed last names. I started singing & writing songs after about 15 years of refusing to. I lightened my hair color thanks to some highlights & grew my hair out about a foot & a half longer! I became a doting auntie of 4. I discovered my greatest passions in life. I became extremely close to my family. I experienced my highest highs & lowest lows. I learned how to become my own Miss America. I learned how to tap into my true soul & write music that matters. I became a hockey girlfriend, fiancé, & wife to an amazing Christian man, an unexpected dream-come-true for the girl who thought she would marry a pastor, but has also always just really loved watching hockey! & finally, I became an adult... but will always be a kid at heart, obviously! So much life has happened over this past decade, I’m sure you all feel the same way! One thing I am proud of & genuinely surprised by are all the important lessons I’ve learned since 2010. I learned that our personality may be something we are born with & develop through life experiences, but it’s our spiritual responsibility to channel that in a Godly & mature way. I learned that it’s ok to feel hopeless, depressed, & angry from time to time as long as I don’t allow myself to camp in those feelings for too long. Sometimes you will walk through a dark season of life, & that is ok - but you have to keep walking though it. Speaking of seasons, I experienced many different spiritual seasons in this decade, & each of them have shaped who I am today. In the dark seasons I learned what hopelessness looks like - & how to walk through it by finding my sole hope in Christ. I also learned how to praise God through my pain in these times! In the mountaintop seasons I learned how to thank God for absolutely every blessing. Through blood, sweat, & tears, I grew in each of these seasons. & with each passing year & season, my understanding of God grew exponentially. This is the most valuable thing I gained from the 2010’s... other than my husband. He is my top blessing from my 2010’s! At one point in this decade I was shattered & then re-built. Because of this I learned what it actually meant to place my trust in Jesus when earthly security was nonexistent. To lay all of my desires & dreams at His feet in surrender & allow Him to author the story of my life! I was humbled & I was broken at times, but God meant all of that for my good & for the good of my future ministry for others. I warred through many lengthy spiritual battles, but God gave me the perseverance to walk through each of them with bold faith & a hopeful heart. The 2010’s were a time of broken dreams & unexpected setbacks. But these years were also a time of renewed hope, new dreams, & unexpected blessing! I discovered my deep passion for encouraging others, inspiring the church to rise up in faith, & touching souls with the power of music. I became more like myself; my true self. Happy, free, funny, & a little dorky. Motivated, ambitious, & passionate. Friendly, empathetic, & hopeful. A new decade means the same Abby, but I know she will experience even more life in this decade & continue to grow & change! She will become an even better wife, friend, & daughter. She will shake the world with the God inside of her & she will face the 20’s with the Holy Spirit in her heart & Rocco by her side. At this “turn of the decades,” I want to wish each of you a Happy 2020. I don’t consider this catchy number to be a magical prophecy of great things, but what I do consider it to be is another year of new opportunities & the start of another decade in which we will all, if we choose to & are able to, continue to live on this side of Heaven living for the God who perfectly & completely loves us. Never underestimate the gift of one day. One week. One year. With God anything is possible, & with a little bit of time & a little bit of trust, He can do immeasurable things. Tell me, will you put your trust in Jesus this decade? Will you live for Him? Will you wake up everyday, refreshed with purpose & potential because of the living, breathing God you serve? Will you charge through the good & the bad, knowing that through Christ you are strong & courageous? Will you care enough about others to share Jesus with this broken world? Will you give your attention to the things that actually matter? Will you trust God with your dreams this decade? Will you lay your desires at His feet & trust Him with them? Will you leave time & space in your life for Him to do what He wants to do? What will become of your 2020’s will heavily rely on the measure to which you trust God with this time. I know we are incapable of perfection, but I can’t help but ask myself these questions. I hope you ask them to yourselves as well. Without direction, we could walk in circles for another 10 years. But with direction, intention, & action... wow. Imagine all the incredible things we will see happen in our own lives this decade. & the ripple effect that will have on everyone else in our lives. Yes, eternity is at stake for those around us. This is a big deal. So today & everyday of the 2020’s, God, help me to be who You need me to be & do what You need me to do. I am willing. Are you? 2020’s, here we come! Abby Grimaldi Follow me on social media for more #BornToShine content, spiritual inspiration, music, hockey wife adventures, Nashville fun, etc! Instagram & Twitter: @abbygrimaldi23 Facebook & YouTube: Abby Grimaldi Spotify & iTunes: Abby Grimaldi
3 Comments
Susan Kemper
1/5/2020 02:02:49 pm
Hi Abby! You are such a breath of fresh air! I love your Faith and the fact you are so happy to share it! I follow you on FB and Insta. I’m grateful God brought Rocco to Nashville. Without that, I wouldn’t have found your media! Keep singing, keep Praising Him, and keep being Abby! I live by our Church’s motto...Love God, Love People and make Jesus Known! I would love for you or you and Rocco to Worship with us one Sunday Morning. You don’t have to even let me know you are coming! I would love to share an Hour of our love for the Lord with you!
Reply
Murna Vanderklok
1/5/2020 10:52:03 pm
Abby you and Rocco are an inspiration to all of us who love the Lord! I pray for you folks routinely , because we know God is good all the time! Hugs to you and Rocco, and your awesome
Reply
Paul Steinhauser
1/12/2020 04:12:30 pm
Abby, I read your last decade letter and your comments for others for the 20's decade. All wonderful. Thank you Grimaldi's for remembering to include me in your decade letter. Abby, you and Rocco can join the ME3 movement. Phil. 2: 1-4. God 1st, everyone else second and ME3. God bless you from Bro. Paul.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorChristian Singer-Songwriter, Writer, Hockey Wife, & Fitness Fanatic. Nomad with North Dakota roots. Archives
January 2020
Categories
|