I remember it like it was yesterday, I was told to 'marry my ministry.' Now, a year later, I finally understand its meaning - all due to studying the Biblical book of Ruth, chock full of principles every 'single' gal needs to hear while waiting for the man God has for them.
I want to live a simpler life.
One where I’m not constantly diverting my eyes to the screen of a device that fits in the palm of my hand. One where I’m not pressuring myself to find words of greatness before I can pen them onto a page. One where I’m not left searching for connectivity in a blur of online perfectionism. One where I can be content in the everyday moments, instead of in searching for greater and bigger and better.
I've been a Christian for seven years.
I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at age twenty, having just sat through a Sunday night chapel service my sorority sister invited me to at Pepperdine University. I remember the night perfectly; it was as if the scales fell off my eyes and I could see clearly for the first time – God was actually real.
It’s a misconception that we need to plumb the depths of our own sin to understand the depth of God’s love and grace. It’s a lie. The love of God was present and inherent in man’s relationship with Him before sin entered the world. He established covenant relationships with his people throughout human history to demonstrate his longing for reconciliation.
I was supposed to write this article weeks ago. It’s been a hard year for me. Yes, you read that right. We’re two months in, and I am struggling. I’m trying to accept that this is a season of wrestling with the Lord. 2018 went that way. 2019 seems to be headed in the same direction.
It scares me a little bit, to be wrestling. I want to have the answers. I’m the “Christian” friend in a lot of spaces. That means people want to know what I think. They look to me for wisdom. And right now, I really don’t feel like I have any to offer.
I’m a planner.
My favorite time of the year is at Christmas when I specifically ask for only one gift: a customized, Erin Condren Life Planner. Call me a nerd or an overachieving student, but when I have that planner with me, I am invincible.
If you would have met me last year, you'd have called me a fairly compassionate, caring person. I went above and beyond to meet the need's of everyone I knew. But I came to realize, although it's GOOD to go above and beyond for people, I wasn't doing it for the right reasons. I was serving to the point that I was getting anxious and burnt out. And why was I overburdening myself to the point of physical stress? Because I thought I had to EARN God's love.
Graduating from college can bring upon a plethora of changes to a person’s life; interviewing for jobs, applying to graduate school, relocating, finding new roommates, moving to a new apartment, buying a car, paying back student loans, and the list could go on. Obviously this list differs from person to person, but without a doubt every person’s life will be different in some way or another as a post-grad.
I knew I would meet resistance in trying to start a Bible study in my sorority, but I didn’t think I would meet it so early on. And especially not from my fellow Christian community.
Since Marquette U. recruitment was in the winter instead of the fall, I had already planted some roots at school. But my roots didn’t seem so interested in my idea of joining a sorority in hopes of building relationships and eventually starting a Bible study.
Fat, skinny, gullible, strong-willed, pretty, flighty, short, worthless, crazy, boring...
...the world loves to tell us who we are, and even more-so: who we're NOT. But with the passing trends, worldwide confusion, and anxiety rates floating through the roof - where is it we're to look? Who are we meant to be... simply what others stamp us as?