Monday, September 19, 2011

"You are not junk, but you are a project..."

Maybe it's just the recent "Fall" weather we've been having, but it makes me want to blog constantly.  It's even gotten to the point to as I'm walking to/from my classes, my mind is busily writing before I can even get to a computer to type.  My brain needs to realize I don't have too much of a memory during a school semester ;) 

Yesterday, we began a new series at my church titled "Restored."  The first part yesterday was "God's Salvage Yard."  As human begins, we enjoy the process of restoration.  It's always fun to take something the world may see as completely irreparable and make it brand new.  Maybe that's why I enjoy the editing process so much as a writer.  I enjoy taking something I already thought to be "good enough," yet changing and tweaking it until it becomes even better than I thought it to be in the first place. 

Jesus' ministry wasn't for those who were the "first" so to speak.  He went to the least of these, the lost; that was whom His ministry was for.  As Christians, that what we all should be doing; going to those that may need us to step out of our comfort zones in order to help.  What happens to a car that never gets rescued? Eventually, they are crushed, melted down, and thrown into a junk heap to be used as recycled metal.  In a way, that's what happens when we as Christians don't help to bring people to God.  On judgement day, they will be thrown to the side as could we, and thrown into a lake of fire. God looks at each of us the same; we are all His children and he is constantly trying to lead our hearts to Him.

As we look in the mirror, in our eyes, we see many dents, rust, and corrosion on ourselves, but God doesn't see that when he looks at us.  In His eyes, he sees our potential, what we could be. We're God's everlasting projects.  That is such a relief to me.  I see so many things on myself every day that I need to work on, fix, change, in order to not only be the person God wants me to be, but the person that I, myself would like to be.  But in order for God to salvage us, He has to go all the way down to our core and begin from the inside out.  God starts with our engine (our hearts) and works on us until we are as He sees fit.  I'm so thankful to belong to a God who will never give up on me, no matter how many times I may fall down; He'll never leave my side.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Tonight I rediscovered how amazing it feels when God shows you something that He wants you to do in your life.  I will admit to not recognizing these signs nearly as often as I should, but tonight it became all too clear.  I only wish I'd seen the signs sooner.  I can only pray that God gives me the wisdom to handle His will in the way I should..until then, guess I'll keep praying :)

Only Time Will Tell..

I woke almost as suddenly as I had gone to sleep that night.  I couldn't figure out what might possibly wake me up at 3:00 in the morning, until I looked down to a recent missed call on my phone from an old friend.  I knew before reading her text message that something was off..little did I know how much.  As I listened to her on the other end of the phone, it was like I was seeing myself from a distance, but not at all in my body. There had been an accident of a good friend of mine, a childhood friend, and it didn't look good.  Little did I know my worst nightmare would be happening.  As I tried to grasp how something so tragic could affect someone this young, a good boy, with a great family; a family who had been around my family since before I can even remember.  Why do things happen to good people?  Does everything really happen for a reason?  Where was God during this tragedy?


These are some of the questions we've been discussing at my church this past month.  As each question was addressed, my mind always returns to my dear friend.  I've been through so many emotions these past 9 months.  Why would God take someone who was loved by so many people, not to mention in the dawn of his young life?  What good could possibly come out of this?  A lot of Christians are taught not to question God in times of despair or crisis and that by doing so you're not allowing yourself to have faith in God, but in reality it's the exact opposite.  God is big enough to handle our questions.  He's not finished in our lives, and doesn't cause bad things to happen in them, but no matter what, will bring good out of our misfortunes.  


When tragedies such as the one in my life occur, the common phrase that is used to "mend" our pain is "Everything happens for a reason."  What they really mean to say is that everything happens for a divine reason. By saying that, it assigns everything that happens in this world to God.  My personal belief, although some may beg to differ, is that God doesn't cause bad things to happen in our lives; sometimes bad things just happen.  However, God does use these bad situations to bend them and shape them into His will for our lives.


So where was God when these terrible things happen in our lives? As my pastor described, I, just as many others have been in tough times, felt as if I was left alone in complete darkness, searching for all the answers I knew I might never get.  There are three reasons that bad things could happen in our lives.  The first, is that humans have free will.  God allows this, and allows us to make our choices because a love that is forced isn't love at all.  These choices that we make can be sinful, which in turn leads to a fallen creation.  Luckily, God is still working on creation constantly and will never give up on us.  The ultimate show of arrogance is to blame God for our choices.  The answers to my questions, as well as to yours when it comes to times of tragedy and unfortunate circumstances wont ever give any of us any comfort.  The only source that can bring comfort is God and His love. 


I may never have the answers to why one of my good friends was killed.  His family and loved ones won't ever get the answers that will comfort them, or more importantly bring him back to all of us, however throughout everything God will be there with us guiding us through the tough times in our lives and molding us into the will that He has layed out before us.