So I have been listening to Rend Collective’s album Campfire for awhile now and I have to say it is literally one of my favorite albums to listen to. With the album came a video called the Campfire Story, where they talk about the reason for how they recorded the album. It really touched me because there is so much truth in it and something that over these past months I have really taken to heart and helped me.
Growing up, I have always been the weird or awkward kid compared to those around me. I have always had a hard time finding a group that accepted me for me and didn’t beat me down. This really became hard when I was in middle school and starting high school, I experienced a lot of bullying that lead to me developing depression and hopelessness. I felt as if I was nothing and didn’t matter, just a waste of space. I started to wonder why would God allow this, what is the purpose of feeling worthless and alone? Well as I have gotten older, God really has shown me why I went through all of this. He has shown me so much about myself but some of the most important things are how strong He has made me and how I can be that person to stand up and reach out to those who are going down that same road. He has also taught me how it is so easy to follow the crowd and not be true to yourself. Over the years I have built all these walls around me to protect myself from being hurt the way I was in middle school and high school and I could feel myself dwindling down, I was losing sight of the true person God had made me to be and distancing myself from everyone. But this year has been pretty epic in the sense God has helped me in tearing down these walls and getting back to the lady he created me to be. I cannot tell you how freeing it is just to be yourself and not to worry about what others may think because the only being that matters is God. I literally have never felt so much joy, peacefulness, and just love in staying true to me and God. I want to inspire everyone to just take a step back and look at themselves and ask God is this who you created me to be?
As the guy is talking about in the video, we are all different and we have all experienced different situations in our life but we should never allow our hurts to hold us back from being ourself and coming together. A lot of the bullying I experienced was from people that called themselves Christians but I know God loves me just the way I am and He loves you just the way you are. I may feel like an outsider at times but God doesn’t have any outsiders in His kingdom. Also, something I have learned and think it is so important to remember that we should never let our hurt and sufferings to keep us away from the church. We are all sinners and we all have a spark inside of us for God. We are all celebrated for our differences by God and should make sure that we celebrate those around us and their differences. We are his church and we need to make sure that we don’t push anyone away because we all need love and community. I am so excited to have a squad and team filled with some many different personalities and creating such a beautiful community already.
“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” – Hebrews 10:24-25
