At the End of the Year (2024)

February 3rd, 2025

This was a very growth filled year with many adventurous experiences and long bike rides. I really loved being able to take long journeys, spending time biking with the family adventuring in Oahu and I feel like I’m walking away with good health. I did however, long for a few things that didn’t quite materialize. I wasn’t able to go on the Niagara ride, some relationships didn’t quite grow how I wanted and it feels like I spent a lot of time feeding bad thoughts. I learned a lot of lessons but still feel like there are many that I need to learn. Through all of the year though, I am thankful for what it has brought to me and those that I got to experience it with.

What part of this past year did I love? What about it did I most enjoy?

I rode a total distance of 3,204km in the year - a bit short of what I had planned for but I’m happy with that total distance given how the year went. I really focused on ensuring that I would be able to take some long rides with my cycling club this year. I went on an epic ride to Lake Simcoe, finally crossed red bulb off the list of coffee shops that I need to visit and rode my bike in Hawaii. I think being able to go on many group rides really helped me to build some relationships with people in the cycling club. I also had to deal with perhaps my first flat? First flat on a rental bike and then eventually had to deal with a flat on Neo, tough and humbling experience but glad to have it under my belt. I also really loved travelling through Hawaii with the family. It reiterated how important making memories with the family really is. We got the kids to hike up the koko crater trail, enjoyed Bob’s BBQ on the beach and roughed out the weather in Lahaina beach- it got quite windy and rained but, damn what a beautiful beach. We discovered a lot of new spots while still making sure to enjoy the places we’ve been before.

I also felt like the things I enjoyed doing allowed me to work on my health and get it to - while also keeping it - a good place. Julia and I tried to carve out time each month to get together and spend some time working on our relationship and just spending time together. We spent a good amount of time eating out on dates together and it felt really good to get that part of my life in healthy shape. I also crossed off almost all of the burger places I want to eat off the list for the year. This was really good for allowing me to do the things I really enjoy and just enjoy the things that I really enjoy. I also had the opportunity to enjoy some time away on my own working at Clio Con but also allow myself to step back and get away from everything and spend some alone time. The sense of adventure by myself allowed me to really charge my inner batteries.

What did I long for this year?

I really wanted to ride my bike this year. I think I started the year with a goal to ride 3,500 km. Although I didn't quite meet that mark, I was able to get myself fairly close. I closed off the year riding 3,204 km which was not quite what I had hoped but still quite respectable, in my humble opinion. I had hoped to do the annual Niagara ride with the club but I was too sick and was not able to join. I also longed to travel a lot this year which I think I was able to do perhaps just not quite to the level I had hoped. I travelled to Hawaii, Austin and Vancouver. I would have loved to continue travelling a bit more but that is something I can aim for this year.

A large part of what I really longed for was to reconnect with old friends who I have not spent that much time with. I felt like some relationships of mine were not watered and I was not able to spend as much time with some people who I really would have loved to spend time with. I’m also a bit weary about where I spent my time this year. Was it in the right places that I wanted to and was it the best use of time for me? To improve next year, I want to not spend as much time thinking and feeding negative thoughts and try to spend that energy in positive places.

What were some of the lessons I learned this year?

This was a year full of little lessons and realizations but, I think there are a few that really stuck out. In a recent sermon from Chang, he mentioned that we are designed by God to be peacemakers, not consumers of peace. He wants to fill heaven with those that want to make peace in this world and that really hit home with the situations I’ve found myself in. Instead of being distant and disconnected from the relationships that I have, I should be more proactive about creating peace in all aspects of my life.

You don’t always need warmth, sunshine and a “great” day to have a great time. On our trip to Vancouver in November, it was rainy and cold almost the whole time with the ground being wet basically the entire trip. But, we still had a great time going biking together in Stanley Park and hiking up Abbotsford mountain. This is an old saying but still quite relevant here, you take what life gives you and you make the best of it. When you prepare for what is to come and you just enjoy what you have, it can surprise you how much you can really enjoy something even though situations aren’t ideal.

Almost every single year of being a parent, I’ve been reminded of this but, you never remember the struggle. When faced with tough decisions like, do we go to the beach and lug all this stuff, have to clean the kids afterwards and then handle all of the items that we have to take with us. You never remember the struggle or the temporary pain that it took to make those memories. The memories last a lifetime and become so valuable and precious. Don’t ever let the temporary pain and struggle discourage you from going out and creating those lifelong memories just so you can be comfortable.

With all of these lessons, I’m still trying to learn how to effectively grow in my career. I think I’ve hit a point where I’m starting to be comfortable with what needs to happen but, I don’t quite have a finger on what it is I need to do so that I can continue to grow. I also don’t have a good handle on what exactly it takes to maintain and “water” the relationships I already have going, it feels like I’m just lucky to have the relationships I have in my life and I should just appreciate them for being there. Lastly and maybe most importantly, I’m still not sure what works for me regarding creating a good connection with God. What works best and what is something I can continue to do consistently? I’ll continue to bring this into the new year.

What am I most thankful for this past year?

The past year gifted me with so many new memories and overall, there is so much that I should be thankful for. More than I could remember or really capture properly in this letter.

I think first and foremost, I am thankful for God giving me my health and allowing me the opportunity to maintain it. I have the opportunity to do the things I love and my body is not a limiting factor. I am thankful that my family has their health too. I’m thankful that health is not something that burdens us daily.

I am thankful for my immediate family, they are the rock that I centre my life on. I am grateful for my wife, her unrelenting passion for us and how committed she is to taking care of us. I am grateful that she is such a wonderful mom to my kids and such a wonderful wife to me.

I am grateful for the rest of my family and their health. I thank God that my parents and siblings are still with us today - although not in perfect health, they are around and can be present as my children grow and learn from them.

I am grateful for the career that I have, the adventures I’ve been able to take part in and the friends that are still in my life. I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had this year: watching the solar eclipse with my family, riding a bike down the Oahu coast and having such a wonderful run through the playoffs with my church softball team.

It has been an amazing year and frankly, I’m just thankful that I was able to live through and come out with the memories that I have.

Written by Lawrence Hebia, a web developer from Toronto, Canada. ✌🏼