Rickrolling – the lyrics matter, my friends!
As I find myself skyrocketing towards the start date of the World Race, I can’t help but notice that my powers of procrastination have increased seven-fold! Not only have I sorely neglected posting in my blog once every week, I have also not finished writing nor sending out my support letters! The list of things I am procrastinating on is enough content to fill this blog but don’t worry- I won’t do that to you.
Instead! Get excited! I will inform you all of the most recent things God has been teaching me through life events, friends, family, movies, and time spent alone reflecting and praying.
Behold! Even when I spend my days working too much, dodging responsibility, and procrastinating like my life depends on it, God still has the grace and mercy to school this wee little lass on all the things she needs to learn. So without further adieu, my list of things recently learned:
- That the “storms” in my life are just that- temporary storms. In my ripe old age of 22, I’ve noticed a few things about this game of life we all play- no matter what happens, the situation can ALWAYS be turned around for good AND for God. The best way to survive a storm is to go to a safe place (this is mostly common knowledge). In the past month, I’ve been going to the safest place I know- the arms of God. He has not been letting me down.
- That unlike God, PEOPLE will always let me down at some point no matter how amazing or trustworthy they may seem. If they are human, they cannot be perfect. The key to not becoming a pessimistic old spinster or a crabby old hermit (negativity is not sexist- anybody can turn into an older, meaner, and more bitterly decrepit version of themselves!) is to keep in mind that humans are wired that way. Even just looking at my own life, I can fill yet another blog with all of the moments I’ve let someone I care about down. So how can I expect everyone else and myself to always be meeting/exceeding my expectations? I can’t. Also, humans can’t be perfect! If we were, we wouldn’t need a savior. This one is a work in progress- to be continued.
- NO MATTER WHAT, NEVER STOP PRAYING! Nehemiah (a Bible guy) is my role model in this area (just read the first chapter of his book – prime example of how to react to bad news).
- My main man, Job (another Bible guy), is a constant role model. When I feel like my life is falling apart in every way that it possibly can, I grab the nearest Bible and I look the man up. No matter what happens, Job keeps his faith and focus on God. Don’t worry fellow Job fans out there; I’ve got a blog focused on this in the making.
- Life is NOT easy. There is no Staples easy button to get me out of trouble. If something is going wrong in my life, it is up to me to ask God for help and then to put forth effort to fix the situation. This applies to my relationships, my job, my physical health, my commitments and responsibilities, everything! Life is complicated and a difficult challenge but God will never put me OR YOU against something you cannot handle with His help.
- In the movie God’s Not Dead, one of my favorite lines ended up being a piece of advice that a pastor gave concerning a student’s walk with God, “it’s not easy…but it’s simple.” This applies not just to my relationship with God, but it can apply to my life as well. As messed up as my life gets, if I simply keep chasing God with everything I have, I will always be okay. No one said this fight is easy- but it can be simple.
- The Truth: I am beautiful, worthwhile, beloved, forgiven, useful, treasured, special, wanted, fought for, important, and a worthy cause. Although a lot of the time I feel like or believe that I never come in first…or second…or even third for that matter, or that I am the most pathetically lonely and useless piece of trash on the side of the road, or that no one will ever pick me over someone or something else, I know that none of that is true. Recently, God used a very dear friend of mine to show me what I looked like to Him and how He feels about me. This lesson was by far the most emotional because until now, I’d never had a sturdy sense of self-confidence or self-esteem. I knew that God used me to help others and that He loved me but never before had I been able to accept in my heart how truly precious I am to God.
- God is the only one that can fill the empty void in my heart. I’ve learned that He is my source of true joy and I’ve noticed that the more I draw near to and rely on Him to get me through every minute of my day, the more small-child-excited my soul begins to feel about knowing Him. A few days ago, I went on a prayer-run (when I get stressed, I run while praying so that I can’t cry – it’s a nifty trick, my fellow stress criers), and by the end I started to feel joy in my heart. I thought to myself how lucky I am that I get to have a relationship with someone that will ALWAYS take care of and love me. Just then, as I looked down at the ground, I saw two lucky 4 leaf clovers starin at me – it’s the little things that count, you know? God uses nature to speak to me a lot and this was Him saying that He knows, loves, and is there with me.
- Trust God. If he tells you to turn left, I suggest you turn left. Telling the Creator of the Universe that I know a better way to get to a place I’ve never been before is foolish. Just because I think I know some back roads that would make the trip faster or easier doesn’t mean that my route is better than God’s. He knows what lies ahead of me and I need to have faith in His directions.
- Sometimes the best thing I can do for myself is to shut up, sit still, and listen for God’s voice. Having ADHD makes this difficult for me because I’m a natural-born run-around-like-a-crazy-person-and-do-it-yourself-er. However, I have learned that if I’m constantly running around doing my best to figure out what it is that I’m supposed to be doing now and forever every single moment of my life, *deep breath* something or someone is going to get broken and it’s probably going to be me…yeah, it doesn’t take a genius to see all the problems that will stem from that hot-mess of a plan. Quiet time works, I highly recommend it!
So there you have it! …Yet another blog that is too long, haha. I’m workin on it everyone. In the meantime though, keep me in your prayers please! Until next…month…haha..(hopefully much sooner).
Adios, Muchachos!
– Vashti =o)
