To Myself, when life is just really bad..
If there is anything I have learned over the past two years of writing this blog, it is that when I am the most vulnerable and the most real .. that is when I hit the most people with the love of the Father.
So here we go again. In keeping with the theme of letters, this one is directed to myself.
And let me just say that I really, really needed to write it, and now read it about 100 times.
Hello there self. You're sitting in Starbucks, at your favorite table near the window, in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday.
You had to step away from campus to get work done.. and just to breathe.
It's been a really, really hard two weeks. There's no denying it.
Things, multiple things, didn't go as you wanted them to.
There were incidents with automobiles.
Onlines quizzes had changed due dates.. that you didn't realize.
You got sick, not once but several times and basically didn't eat for a week because of it.
Life is so incredibly hard for so many incredibly different reasons that don't even deserve to be written on this screen.
You're at the point of just making it.. not even day by day, more like minute by minute.
It's rough.
And it's really easy to throw yourself a pity party every day, because something popped up that was not part of the plan and screwed everything up.. again.
It's so easy.
But before you get out the decorations, I just want to take a few minutes on this afternoon and remind you of some things.
It is okay to ask for help.
It is okay to admit that life is absolutely horrendous at the moment.
Admitting that you are not alright is allowed. You don't have to be perfect. You aren't. You mess up many many times a day in many many different ways. Just because you have Jesus does not mean life is always great, and you don't have to pretend that it is.
JK Rowling had her first Harry Potter book rejected like 12 times before someone agreed to publish it. Einstein was pulled out of school because his teachers said he wasn't smart. Life throws you curveballs and you take them and run with them because it's the only thing you can do.
You are important, you are valuable, you are treasured, because the Father created you and He loves you more than you can ever imagine.
There is no one like you. You are uniquely, originally, unequivocally YOU. The Lord made you in His own image, He created His plans for you a very very long time before you were born.
Yes. You do mess up a lot. You make mistakes, you are not perfect, you screw up things on a daily basis because you are human.
But you are also confident. You are kind. You are encouraging. You are loved.
You discount yourself daily, but you are so valued in the eyes of the Lord.
Your dad will drop everything to pick up the phone and listen to you sob over trivial circumstances, because when there are lots of little things they all add up to big things. He will remind you that even a very bad day can only last 24 hours. He will constantly tell you to keep going, that things will get better, and that you are so loved by him and the Lord. You will tear up as you sit in Starbucks typing this, because you know that He does so much for you because he loves you so much.
Ann Collins will receive 24 text messages a day full of complaints and stress and concerns and she will patiently read each one and respond to each one and remind you over and over again that you are valued, you are going to be just fine, and that the Lord's plans are infinitely better than yours.
Caroline will listen to every itty bitty complaint and freak out and will have the most patience of anyone you have ever met as she also reminds you that the Lord's plans are great and He would not put all this in your path if you couldn't handle it.
Taylor will know that sometimes you need new binder clips and a notebook and chapstick and chocolate to make you smile and will remind you that you are going to be okay, and that she loves you so much too.
Your many, many, many other friends that are too many to name will send messages of encouragement when they didn't even know you are having a really rough time and they will remind you at just the right moment that they care too.
And some of them (especially the ones above) will sit, for just a moment, in sadness and just be with you when life is hard. And they will pray for you. Those are the kind of friends who really get you and love you infinitely.
Yes, the Lord has a plan. His plan is better than yours. Like so much better always, He's never wrong.
But His plan for you overlaps with His plans for others. Constantly.
Proverbs 19:21
Isaiah 55:8
Psalm 138:8
You are not the only person on this earth. You were created to serve, and give glory to God. And that means that your plans do not always happen as you think they are supposed to. It means that your idea of how your week should've gone doesn't happen. Because there are other people's lives affected.
So even though you think that things should've gone according to your plans, God says no sometimes (most of the time). And you need to accept that the world is bigger than you, and His plans are greater and will be better in the long run.
You also should go read some of your old blog posts about God's plans being greater than yours, because wow they really pertain to this.
You can pitch a fit, be angry, and have an even worse time. That's the easy thing to do.
Or you can choose to have joy in the face of trials.
You can have a bad attitude, or you can choose joy and trust.
It's not an easy decision. It has to be done constantly, continuously, deliberately in the face of challenge.
But when you choose joy, it affects your spirit and your heart, it creates a sense of peace within you, and it glorifies God.
Choosing to trust that God's plans are better lessens the pain and the anxiousness, the worry and restlessness.
It gives you the peace that He is in charge, He who holds the world.
It reminds you that He does not let go even in the middle of chaos, that He loves you, and that you do not need to be fearful of the unknown because He knows all.
John 16:33
So, self, you have had a tough time of it. It's been, well, life. But you are choosing joy and trust, and to praise the Lord in the face of difficulty. You are choosing to remember that you are valued, and you are not alone. You are choosing to know that the Lord's plans are perfect, and you need only trust in Him even in the worst of days. He cares for the birds, He cares for you.
You are going to make it out of a difficult season, and be all the better for it.
He makes beautiful things out of the dust. Remember that.
Love,
So here we go again. In keeping with the theme of letters, this one is directed to myself.
And let me just say that I really, really needed to write it, and now read it about 100 times.
Dear me,
Hello there self. You're sitting in Starbucks, at your favorite table near the window, in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday.
You had to step away from campus to get work done.. and just to breathe.
It's been a really, really hard two weeks. There's no denying it.
Things, multiple things, didn't go as you wanted them to.
There were incidents with automobiles.
Onlines quizzes had changed due dates.. that you didn't realize.
You got sick, not once but several times and basically didn't eat for a week because of it.
Life is so incredibly hard for so many incredibly different reasons that don't even deserve to be written on this screen.
You're at the point of just making it.. not even day by day, more like minute by minute.
It's rough.
And it's really easy to throw yourself a pity party every day, because something popped up that was not part of the plan and screwed everything up.. again.
It's so easy.
But before you get out the decorations, I just want to take a few minutes on this afternoon and remind you of some things.
Everyone has bad days. Everyone has setbacks. You do not have to be perfect all the time.
It is okay to not be fine.It is okay to ask for help.
It is okay to admit that life is absolutely horrendous at the moment.
Admitting that you are not alright is allowed. You don't have to be perfect. You aren't. You mess up many many times a day in many many different ways. Just because you have Jesus does not mean life is always great, and you don't have to pretend that it is.
JK Rowling had her first Harry Potter book rejected like 12 times before someone agreed to publish it. Einstein was pulled out of school because his teachers said he wasn't smart. Life throws you curveballs and you take them and run with them because it's the only thing you can do.
Your value is found in Jesus, it is not found in your looks, your boyfriend (or lack thereof), your job (or lack thereof) , your grades, or anything else on this earth.
Your worth is not found in your looks. Your worth is not found in a position or job. Your worth is not found in the compliments your boyfriend gives you. Your worth is not in a 4.0.You are important, you are valuable, you are treasured, because the Father created you and He loves you more than you can ever imagine.
There is no one like you. You are uniquely, originally, unequivocally YOU. The Lord made you in His own image, He created His plans for you a very very long time before you were born.
Psalms 139:13-16"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you , when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
But you are also confident. You are kind. You are encouraging. You are loved.
You discount yourself daily, but you are so valued in the eyes of the Lord.
You are surrounded by people who love you.
Do not ever think you are alone. You are not.Your dad will drop everything to pick up the phone and listen to you sob over trivial circumstances, because when there are lots of little things they all add up to big things. He will remind you that even a very bad day can only last 24 hours. He will constantly tell you to keep going, that things will get better, and that you are so loved by him and the Lord. You will tear up as you sit in Starbucks typing this, because you know that He does so much for you because he loves you so much.
Ann Collins will receive 24 text messages a day full of complaints and stress and concerns and she will patiently read each one and respond to each one and remind you over and over again that you are valued, you are going to be just fine, and that the Lord's plans are infinitely better than yours.
Caroline will listen to every itty bitty complaint and freak out and will have the most patience of anyone you have ever met as she also reminds you that the Lord's plans are great and He would not put all this in your path if you couldn't handle it.
Taylor will know that sometimes you need new binder clips and a notebook and chapstick and chocolate to make you smile and will remind you that you are going to be okay, and that she loves you so much too.
Your many, many, many other friends that are too many to name will send messages of encouragement when they didn't even know you are having a really rough time and they will remind you at just the right moment that they care too.
And some of them (especially the ones above) will sit, for just a moment, in sadness and just be with you when life is hard. And they will pray for you. Those are the kind of friends who really get you and love you infinitely.
You are a part of the picture. You are not the picture.
Even though it is easy to think that the Lord's plans revolve around you, news flash: they do not.Yes, the Lord has a plan. His plan is better than yours. Like so much better always, He's never wrong.
But His plan for you overlaps with His plans for others. Constantly.
Proverbs 19:21
"For many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. "
Isaiah 55:8
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord."
Psalm 138:8
"The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands."
So even though you think that things should've gone according to your plans, God says no sometimes (most of the time). And you need to accept that the world is bigger than you, and His plans are greater and will be better in the long run.
You also should go read some of your old blog posts about God's plans being greater than yours, because wow they really pertain to this.
You have to make the conscious, daily decision of how you should act.
When God gives you challenges, you have the choice of how to respond.You can pitch a fit, be angry, and have an even worse time. That's the easy thing to do.
Or you can choose to have joy in the face of trials.
James 1:2-4"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kind, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be complete, lacking in nothing."
You can have a bad attitude, or you can choose joy and trust.
It's not an easy decision. It has to be done constantly, continuously, deliberately in the face of challenge.
But when you choose joy, it affects your spirit and your heart, it creates a sense of peace within you, and it glorifies God.
Choosing to trust that God's plans are better lessens the pain and the anxiousness, the worry and restlessness.
It gives you the peace that He is in charge, He who holds the world.
It reminds you that He does not let go even in the middle of chaos, that He loves you, and that you do not need to be fearful of the unknown because He knows all.
John 16:33
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have troubles. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
So, self, you have had a tough time of it. It's been, well, life. But you are choosing joy and trust, and to praise the Lord in the face of difficulty. You are choosing to remember that you are valued, and you are not alone. You are choosing to know that the Lord's plans are perfect, and you need only trust in Him even in the worst of days. He cares for the birds, He cares for you.
You are going to make it out of a difficult season, and be all the better for it.
He makes beautiful things out of the dust. Remember that.
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