This isn't how you planned it, is it? Because this surely isn't how I planned it.
That screenplay that I wrote just isn't turning out how it was supposed to. Yeah, that test grade was supposed to be an A. And my alarm should have woken me up on time. Oh, don't forget that my social life should be perfect, my friends shouldn't stir up drama, and I shouldn't have to be choosing between the lesser of two evils. My life wasn't supposed to be this complicated!
Don't we all find ourselves screaming at God sometimes, whether it be in confusion, or anger, or whatever, about how our lives should have been different. That they should have turned out exactly as we wanted, not this confusing thing filled with rights and wrongs and futures and pasts? School, work, church, everything should be a breeze, right? Everything should be as it is in the script of our minds.
Well, as I'm learning, that just isn't how the Lord works. God always has something bigger in mind than what we can even imagine. He is always answering our prayers, just maybe not in the way we thought He would. Maybe it is a "yes", maybe it's a "not yet", or maybe it's an "I have something better planned". The question is, are we willing to accept how God answers us?
If we don't accept anything but a "yes" to our prayers, of course it's going to seem like God hasn't heard our prayers. I know that I have this picture perfect movie life planned for myself, and as much as I yearn for my life to turn out like this, I can almost guarantee that I will not have the life that plays in my head. God is going to throw things in my path that I'm not expecting, and if I'm willing, He's going to use each and everything that He places in my life for a purpose. That goes for each and every person placed in this beautiful world.
God's plan for our lives isn't the same plan that we have for our own lives, but His is most definitely the best plan to follow.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Who are you?
Who am I? Who am I in this big world that so many billions of us humans call home?
Well, I am Abby. I am a brown haired, brown eyed girl, with friends and family who have a never-ending flow of love and support. I am a writer and a dreamer, a believer and an optimist. I am a usually happy person, and I'm a bit stubborn. I don't wear matching socks, and I don't have very much patience. I am Abby, and that's good enough for me.
There is a quote that my homeroom teacher has hanging in her classroom, from Bill Cosby, "The key to failure is trying to please everyone." Be who you are, and embrace it. Don't let anyone tell you that you aren't good enough, or that you shouldn't be the way you are, because, and believe me, I know this is said a lot, but it's because it's true, if someone doesn't like you, it's their loss. There are multiple billions of people on the Earth, and how many of them are exactly like you? What's that? That's right. Absolutely nobody else can replace you in the world. So don't let anyone change you, because in the end it's hurting everyone who you come into contact with, because those people are missing the amazing beautiful person that you are.
So, I ask, who are you? Do you know exactly what your answer is? Or do you still have a lot to discover? Either of those, and anywhere in between, is absolutely perfectly okay, so long as it's yourself that you are and/or are discovering. The world wants to see the beautiful person who you are, not a fake mask that society has taught you to wear, so throw the mask off, and declare to all of the Earth who you are.
Well, I am Abby. I am a brown haired, brown eyed girl, with friends and family who have a never-ending flow of love and support. I am a writer and a dreamer, a believer and an optimist. I am a usually happy person, and I'm a bit stubborn. I don't wear matching socks, and I don't have very much patience. I am Abby, and that's good enough for me.
There is a quote that my homeroom teacher has hanging in her classroom, from Bill Cosby, "The key to failure is trying to please everyone." Be who you are, and embrace it. Don't let anyone tell you that you aren't good enough, or that you shouldn't be the way you are, because, and believe me, I know this is said a lot, but it's because it's true, if someone doesn't like you, it's their loss. There are multiple billions of people on the Earth, and how many of them are exactly like you? What's that? That's right. Absolutely nobody else can replace you in the world. So don't let anyone change you, because in the end it's hurting everyone who you come into contact with, because those people are missing the amazing beautiful person that you are.
So, I ask, who are you? Do you know exactly what your answer is? Or do you still have a lot to discover? Either of those, and anywhere in between, is absolutely perfectly okay, so long as it's yourself that you are and/or are discovering. The world wants to see the beautiful person who you are, not a fake mask that society has taught you to wear, so throw the mask off, and declare to all of the Earth who you are.
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Batmans and Robins of Today
I'm a day late, but I need to do a tribute to the heroes of yesterday ten years ago. September eleventh, two thousand and one. The day that caused our country to stand still.
The whole nation sat stunned, watching the towers collapse, and then, as if that wasn't enough, there was another crash at the Pentagon, and another one crash-landing only fifteen minutes from our country's capitol, and only miles from a school full of students and teachers. No one was expecting this, and everyone was frozen in place where they watched the events unfold. Well, everyone except for the heroes who immediately jumped into action and risked their own lives to save so many others. Nothing like this had ever happened before in our country's past, but these men and women didn't miss a beat, and many of them didn't even make it out alive to hear our meager thank yous.
We read comic books, and watch movies, about super heroes like Batman and Robin, but those aren't the true heroes in our world today. The Batmans and Robins of the world today don't wear capes, they are those people who, at a moments notice, drop what they are doing, and run to save the lives of people who they may have never even met.
The whole nation sat stunned, watching the towers collapse, and then, as if that wasn't enough, there was another crash at the Pentagon, and another one crash-landing only fifteen minutes from our country's capitol, and only miles from a school full of students and teachers. No one was expecting this, and everyone was frozen in place where they watched the events unfold. Well, everyone except for the heroes who immediately jumped into action and risked their own lives to save so many others. Nothing like this had ever happened before in our country's past, but these men and women didn't miss a beat, and many of them didn't even make it out alive to hear our meager thank yous.
We read comic books, and watch movies, about super heroes like Batman and Robin, but those aren't the true heroes in our world today. The Batmans and Robins of the world today don't wear capes, they are those people who, at a moments notice, drop what they are doing, and run to save the lives of people who they may have never even met.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
All of Creation
Almost three years ago now, a video was shared during youth group, and I've been looking for it ever since. Yes, there are other's done like this one, but I found that this one touches me the most. I've finally found it, and it has brought tears to my eyes once again.
There are so many thoughts going through my head after watching, and it's so difficult to fathom. God loves us. Plain and simple, yet, at times it's the most confusing thing. How could God love someone who's sinned so much? Who's turned away from him time and time again? Who is so broken and beaten down? God loves us. No matter what. And, in addition to that, He's always fighting for us. God is going to be there to pull us out of those deep and fiery pits of life whenever we are willing to accept His grace and love.
Towards the end of the video, you see the actor who's playing God trying to pull the girl towards him, but no matter how hard she tries, she just can't get through those people. Finally, God goes in and fights each of the evils off of her, and holds the girl up, protecting her from evil. God wants to do that and be there for each of us too. He's longing, yearning, for us to want him, to turn to him, and accept his love and care.
The sign outside of my church reads "If God feels distant, stop running". This video and that quote go perfectly together. God is chasing after us, and He wants us to stop and turn around, and let Him hold us in His hands. The only thing that's stopping Him is us. We need to make that decision to let him into our heart, and to give Him our troubles.
It doesn't matter who you've been, or what you've done. The only thing that matters is who God is, and what He's done. Jesus Christ died on the cross, for us, and that is exactly what true love is.
There are so many thoughts going through my head after watching, and it's so difficult to fathom. God loves us. Plain and simple, yet, at times it's the most confusing thing. How could God love someone who's sinned so much? Who's turned away from him time and time again? Who is so broken and beaten down? God loves us. No matter what. And, in addition to that, He's always fighting for us. God is going to be there to pull us out of those deep and fiery pits of life whenever we are willing to accept His grace and love.
Towards the end of the video, you see the actor who's playing God trying to pull the girl towards him, but no matter how hard she tries, she just can't get through those people. Finally, God goes in and fights each of the evils off of her, and holds the girl up, protecting her from evil. God wants to do that and be there for each of us too. He's longing, yearning, for us to want him, to turn to him, and accept his love and care.
The sign outside of my church reads "If God feels distant, stop running". This video and that quote go perfectly together. God is chasing after us, and He wants us to stop and turn around, and let Him hold us in His hands. The only thing that's stopping Him is us. We need to make that decision to let him into our heart, and to give Him our troubles.
It doesn't matter who you've been, or what you've done. The only thing that matters is who God is, and what He's done. Jesus Christ died on the cross, for us, and that is exactly what true love is.
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