Destressing Your Distress

We all have stressful moments. We all have moments in our lives when everything seems to be falling apart. We all have times in life when we wonder how we will ever move forward, why these things are happening to us, and how we will ever get through when all we see is darkness.

My mother often told me growing up that when there is a storm in your life, you can try to go around it, you can try to go under it, you can try to go over it, but the only real way is to go THROUGH it. When there is a storm in your life, you need to go through it.

We all have things in our lives which we cannot control. It may be you, a family member or a close friend receiving news that they have a life-threatening illness. Recently, many of my family members and friends were greatly affected by the superstorm Sandy. Though we cannot control life events like these, we CAN ultimately control our responses to them and I am here to tell you that our response makes all the difference.

When you feel like there is nothing going right, concentrate on what you have- no matter how small or big. I had many times in my life when I did not know how I would get through, but being thankful for the little moments helped me tremendously.

I can honestly say that some of the worst moments in my life have actually been some of the most blessed moments in my life as well. A few months ago, I had a dangerous reaction to medications to the point that I became severely disabled. I could not talk easily, walk well or really do anything I am so used to doing. I had to deal with this condition for a little over a week and at one point, I realized that it was very possible that I would have to deal with this severe physical disability for the rest of my life. I wrote this prayer to God during that time. Since that hospitalization, my life has transformed in unimaginable ways, because I realized how truly fortunate I am.

Dear God, thank you for the fact that I can see even if my eyes don't stay in one spot, that I can walk even with a limp, that I can speak even slowly with a stutter, that I can laugh even with all of this, that I can pray to you quietly and you hear me, that I can sing to my favorite Christian music silently and in my head, that I can hear the music and the bible verses read to me. I know in my heart you will use me as a testimony and witness of your goodness and grace, no matter what lies in the future. I am not afraid, for I know you are with me and always have been. I love you so much. Amen

Struggling to Emerge

I enjoy cooking since I started learning to cook this past summer. A few days ago, I went to the grocery and I decided to attempt to make meringue cookies. The recipe I found only called for a few ingredients so I thought to myself “Well this should be easy…”

Think again.

The first time I attempted to make the meringue cookies, I beat the eggs and cream of tartar. The next step said to add sugar. I did not read thoroughly enough, because I added the sugar all at once. The meringue consequently came out runny. The sugar was supposed to be repeatedly added in very small amounts and then mixed in.

After I made this mistake, I realized that transformations in our life are analogous. Sometimes we ask God to change our financial situation, our emotional situation, our mental situation, our physical condition, etc. We get frustrated when He does not always answer our prayers immediately and sometimes we attribute it to God not listening or not caring about us.

The truth is that transformations in our lives need to be gradual, just as I needed to add very small amounts of sugar in at a time. Sometimes if our lives change too much too quickly, it is more challenging to us. Ultimately, God has the perfect timing and He DOES care for you and He DOES listen to you. He is with you every step of the way, even when you may not feel Him.

Sometimes the struggles and obstacles in our lives are exactly what we need to grow and to move forward. I read a story about a man who saw a butterfly struggling to emerge from a coccoon. He wanted to help it, so he cut the coccoon. However, the butterfly was not able to fly because without the struggle to emerge, it did not have the strength it would have had if the man had not cut the coccoon. The man thought of the immediate solution to the problem he saw in front of him, but God sees the entire picture of our lives. He has a plan for us and He will never leave us nor forsake us.

The Meaning Amidst the Noise

As an engineer, I have learned about noise in signals. If there is too much noise, the signal is lost. The aim of signal processing is to make the signal more clear.

In our society, there is a lot of noise and this noise makes it very difficult to hear the voice of God. If you turn on your TV, you are bombarded by commercials that tell you that you are not beautiful enough, not smart enough, not skinny enough, not popular enough, not rich enough... The list goes on.

I am without a TV, a laptop, a car, an iPod and now a Facebook. To me, this is not deprivation. I feel that true deprivation in life is not knowing God's love and not being able to hear His voice.

God created you and because you are His child, you are:

beautiful enough

smart enough

skinny enough

popular enough

rich enough

_____________ (fill in the blank)

Whatever you are struggling with, know that you are always good enough. Whatever mistakes you have made in the past, you are forgiven and you can move forward.

By listening to and deciphering God's voice amidst all the noise of this world, you can find the meaning in your life.

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." -Psalm 139:14 (KJV)

Broken into Beautiful

As many people did yesterday across America, I cooked a lot of food, including cranberry sauce. It was my first time making cranberry sauce and as I watched the cranberries transform, I thought about life.

Sometimes in life, we are forced to go through some storms and we become broken. Similarly, as the cranberries heat up, they become cracked. This is the first sign of transformation from a cranberry into something beautiful. Through this transformation, the cranberries start melting together. God continually molds us and shapes us into His likeness through these storms in life.

Being broken and going through this transformation is not an easy task, but with our faith in God, we are able to do the impossible and to overcome any storm that comes our way. Life is full of constant transformations; there usually are more than one. Sometimes we feel so overwhelmed, but we do not have to worry about our future. God is with us through it all; He is fighting there right beside us. We are never alone.

The Start of a New Journey

I really feel called to create this blog because I want somewhere where I can keep track of all that God is teaching me, while also providing people with a place to see my art, photography, etc. Over the first 23 years of my life, I have been constantly amazed by the beauty of this world, even amidst the storms (both literal and figuratively).

My hope is that this blog can reach at least one person, because, to me, success can't be measured by the amount of money in your bank account, but the amount of love in your heart and how much you help those around you. To help others in this life is of much greater worth than any material possession. The material possessions can be broken or destroyed but our relationships and how we transform the world lasts forever.

Thank you for visiting my page!