Our True Home

“We validate our existence with a flurry of activity. We do more, buy more, achieve more.” –Max Lucado, Grace

How true is this?

Every day we are bombarded with everything that we have to do. We try to do everything we possibly can do to be successful.

What if I said that none of that matters… That there is more to life than everything that you do to be successful?

I am going to say that. Because a few months ago, all I cared about was being the best I could be at everything I did. I wanted to be the best and all I cared about was awards.

As I knelt down on the floor of my apartment and prayed in October, crying out to the Lord for him to humble me, I had no idea what would happen in the past few months. I had no idea that the very next day, I would find myself in the hospital with a concussion. I had no idea that over the next 8 days, I would be battling a dystonic reaction or that I would have bouts of spasms and stuttering throughout the past few months. God answered my prayer in a very difficult way but I see all of the challenges I've faced as a tremendous blessing. It has humbled me. I still have some struggles with pride, but God continues to help me through that. I do not believe the journey is over.

Every day, God shows me that there is so much more than the nitty-gritty, mundane things of life. There truly is so much more to this life than what’s on TV tonight or how much homework you have to finish by tomorrow.

The more I spend time in God’s presence and hear His voice, the more I am truly in awe of Him. The more time I spend at the lake, just being still and in His presence, the more joyful I feel even though I am going through a very difficult period of my life. The more I center my life around God, the more happiness I feel.

Our God is truly beautiful.

When we stop to be still, we start to see the beauty beyond all of the stuff in our way which blocks us from seeing the beauty in this world.

Max Lucado goes on to say…

“Your identity is not in your possessions, talents, tattoos, kudos, or accomplishments. Nor are you defined by your divorce, deficiencies, debt or dumb choices. You are God’s child.” –Max Lucado, Grace

Read that again. I had to read it quite a few times myself.

Isn’t it incredibly powerful to have our true identity as God’s child? I think it’s pretty awesome.

I just graduated college in May 2012. I graduated at the top of my class, with a Bachelors with two minors in the Honors program. In college, I worked on five research projects at five separate universities across the country. Needless to say, I was a bit crazy in college.

I worked hard, but does that all really matter?

The more I focus on God, the more I see the greater picture of life. The more I realize that there is so much more than being the best. So much more than getting ten million awards.

I think our main goal in this life should be to allow God to be the center of our lives. Because no matter who hurts you, no matter what obstacles come your way, He will be there. He will be there when there is no one else. He’s not just there, either. He gives you the strength and guidance to get through. Sometimes, He even carries you.

Some people say that being Christian or religion is too “restrictive.” They think that becoming a Christian means that all the joy and fun is taken out of life.

I beg to differ.

The more I get to know God, the more excited I get about life. The peace and joy I feel honestly make no sense, especially at such a difficult time in my life. Yet I still wake up every morning, with such joy and excitement, because I know that I will see the beauty of God. I know that God will lead me through the challenges. I know that through Him, I will continue to make a difference in this world.

I wanted to share something I posted on Facebook this morning, because it is something that God is teaching me:

Each new day is a gift, a blessing from God. Each new day is an opportunity to make the most of our precious time here. Each new day is an opportunity to move forward, not to look back but to continue to crawl, walk, run or sprint towards God's loving arms. Each day is an opportunity to make the world a better and more peaceful place. Each day is new for a reason. Today can be different than yesterday and tomorrow can be different than today. So make the most of your time. Spread a message of love, hope, peace and joy. 

As I have shared throughout many posts, I grew up in a very difficult family situation. I even had points in my life when I “couch-surfed” from home to home after running away and then becoming evicted. Through those situations, I came to realize that a home is not just a building. Our true home is in God’s loving arms. Our true home is peaceful, not full of hate. Our true home is full of love, not fear. In our true home, unconditional love takes us in.