Becoming New

We're twenty two days into the new year, and if the crowd at my college's fitness center is any indication people are working on their New Year fitness resolutions, myself included.  I've been working out most days of the week and trying to eat less junk food in an effort to get healthier and stronger.  Phrases like "a whole new you!" and "transform your body" are all over the place, and people are looking at their post-holiday bodies thinking "yeah, that could be a good idea." 

Everyone wants a beautiful body, but what gets overlooked at this time of year, and any time of year for that matter, is that no amount of body fat (or lack thereof) and no amount of muscle mass (or lack thereof) is going to make you more beautiful.  It might seem that way, but it just won't.  You're already the most beautiful thing in the world.  You're a child of God.

"So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them" (Genesis 1:27).  You don't need to lose ten more pounds to be lovable, you don't need six pack abs to be beautiful.  God made you in His image, and you already are absolutely beautiful.  God has the power to make you new in so many ways, not just physically, if you'll ask Him and let Him into your life.

Colossians 3:17 says "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  Think about this while you're working out, and really while you do anything else.  Worship isn't just singing, worship is glorifying God in everything that you do, whether that be studying, working, singing, dancing, working out, or anything.

Think about altering your New Years Resolution to ask God to transform your mind, body, and soul, because He can and He will make you new this year, in all kinds of ways.

What I Know Now

I don't really know what to say about this song, except that it really spoke to me. The part that sticks out to me is the first part, to the "little girl, fourteen."  It describes a very common situation, and provides a lot of truth. 

I've spent a lot of my time this past year with a lot of amazing middle-schoolers.  I'm only a few years beyond middle school, but already I'm having moments of "if I only knew then what I know now."

I wish I could tell my middle school self to "put those magazines and makeup tutorials away, you aren't going to care very much about makeup in just a few years, anyway.  Go read or write.  You'll be wishing you had more time to do those things later on."

I wish I could tell that fourteen year old Abby to "stick with the friends who care, not the ones who constantly make you fight to keep them.  It's the ones who are comforting you on the sidelines who will be with you once you get into middle school."

I wish I could show that girl what studying looks like.  "You'll need those skills pretty soon."

I wish I could tell her "don't take the happy times for granted.  They aren't always going to be that way."

But then I wish I could remind her "the bad times aren't going to last forever.  Trust that God will bring you through whatever He brings you to."

I wish that I could tell her to "stop saying that you don't care what other people think, and work on actually believing it.  You can say that the grass isn't green as many times as you want, but that isn't going to change the truth."

Mostly, though, I wish I could tell her to "pay more attention to the adults around you.  They've been through it all before, they know what they're talking about.  Take it to heart."

Well, this isn't what I thought it would be at first.  I thought the song would have more to do with this post, but I guess it was just inspiration.  Maybe I'll talk about it again, later.  But I feel like I've said what I needed to say, anyway.