I would like to sit down with you and talk.
Most likely talk some sense into you.
You’d probably talk some sense into me.
We’d laugh, cry, and leave feeling better.
If I had my way, I would take a megaphone and yell to the
entire world this message, but megaphones are relatively expensive, so are plane
tickets, and I’ve come down with a cold so my voice would do no good anyways.
Here is what I would tell everyone:
You are so wanted and so loved. There is a God out there who
has done more than we could ever fathom who is chasing after you, screaming at
you. But you are too busy listening to your iPod, your mom, your friend, your
boyfriend, and the myriad of other things that are calling at. You are running
so fast to get away from a hurt or a lie or something to stop. To stop running
and silence the world and here a soft whisper say, “I am here.”
After I said that, you would have to say the same thing to
me, because this semester, I’ve been listening to all the wrong things and
trying to push out the right things. I can’t tell you why really. Actually,
that’s a lie, I know exactly why. I’ve been so frightened to face the things
that frighten me.
When I first moved to California, I was so actively pursuing
God. He was everything I could ever want or need and I was trusting. After the
hub-bub of moving, my world became quiet and I began to hear God even more. He
began challenging me to face the stuff I was running from and to be quite honest;
I didn’t think I could do it. I didn’t have my solid support system in place
and even if they were all there I didn’t know if I could face them.
So instead of becoming addicted to God, I became addicted to
social media. How is my family doing? How many likes can this post get? What a
cute couple! And the list went on.
Except God didn’t give up on me as easy as I gave up on him.
Little messages began to pull on my heart until November 29th when I
was asked, “Where are you finding your identity?” And I knew that I was finding
it in all of the wrong places.
Where are you finding your identity?
Here is what I want you to do.
Grab a piece of paper and write five things you’re thankful
and then write five things you want to accomplish. Not like a bucket list, I
mean I suppose it could be, but look at the things you want to accomplish and
remind yourself that you can’t do it, but you can do it with God. And then,
when you doubt God, look at the things you’re thankful for and remember that he
was a part of those things, and he will be a part of your future as well.
So, let’s get scared together. Let’s face our greatest fears
together and then pause and say, “Thank you, God” together when we’ve
succeeded.
