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A Year in Review (Version 2.0): The Iron Yard, Cadence & Community

Posted on by jordanwilhite

It’s not been quite a year since my last version of this but now seems like the best time to do it before life gets 50 extra shades of insane. This time last May, I had applied and was going through the early process of being admitted to The Iron Yard (which I loved), and we were days away from losing my grandmother.

So let’s take a trip over the last year, shall we?

Highs:

  1. We got pregnant really quickly.
  2. I graduated from The Iron Yard.
  3. I got a job at Blackwood Media Group.
  4. Christmas’s in Arkansas & Dallas.

Lows:

  1. This was mentioned in my last Year in Review post, but my grandma Fern died pretty suddenly.
  2. Being away from my brother/Arkansas & Brazillian friends.
  3. Realizing that partnering with TEAM to go to Adelaide is farther down the road for us than I would like it to be.
  4. Applying for a job at the Bridge and being rejected a 2nd time.

Highlights:

  1. The night that I graduated from The Iron Yard, Becky telling me that we were pregnant. It was my graduation present, and it was amazing. Our sons’ name is Cadence Grey Wilhite.
  2. Getting a job offer two days after I graduated/learned I’d become a father.
  3. Growing closer to my community group. They have become my family and I love each of them deeply.
  4. Getting to go to Together for the Gospel with my friend Charles.
  5. Seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX on the night of the premier. There were tears.
  6. Captain America: Civil War. #TeamCap
  7. Seeing my church home make a healthy transition into a new building, and to do so in a healthy manner.

Takeaways:

  1. I said this last year, but it’s even more evident now: Leadership is hard, but its mine to be responsible for. I love Becky too much to let her languish in my lack of leadership. If it means her flourishing, I’ll break my back to lead to the best of my ability.
  2. I am realizing the weight of fatherhood, even before it’s really arrived. I know its full weight will hit me once Cadence is born, but even now, it’s a responsibility I take very seriously.
  3. Gospel growth is worth all of the little deaths it cost me.
  4. I feel the weight of my inadequacies to lead the community that I’ve been entrusted with, and yet the leadership is about to trust me with even more responsibility. It’s something I’m taking on with fear and trembling.
  5. It’s a good time to be a nerd because of all of the great movie and TV content being made.

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