Tag: Birthday

The Biggest Lesson God’s Taught Me at Age 22

A reflection over this past year, closing with encouragement for your faith journey.

Only God can truly satisfy the desires of my heart.

There. Plain and simple. But sometimes, that truth is really hard to accept when the world is so enticing.

So let’s backtrack a little.

22 has been an interesting year for me. In some ways, I finally feel like I know where I’m headed–in the short term and the longterm.

It’s been a privilege pursuing my career goal of becoming an author, and after receiving so much professional feedback and encouragement this year, this dream actually seems within reach.

And a couple months ago, I participated in an in-depth study of Revelation, which reminded me of the eternal home we have with Jesus. I felt a strange sense of comfort, despite all of the warnings and trials foreshadowed in Revelation, by the reassurance that this earth is not our home, so it’s okay if we don’t feel like we belong here sometimes.

This has been a year of healing from past hurts, finding hope that reconciliation is possible, and learning to rely on God day by day for strength, grace, and wisdom.

It’s also been a year of recognizing that as beautiful as my dreams might be, achieving them won’t satisfy me completely.

Yes, reconciliation is worth fighting for. Yes, becoming an author could impact the lives of many readers. Yes, traveling the world might open my perspective in new and exciting ways.

But will any of that fully satisfy me? No.

At the end of the day, I must surrender all of those things to God. With surrender comes supernatural peace, hope and joy, even in the waiting.

The biggest joy of my life this year has been growing in my hunger for God.

It’s taken a long time to get here. Growing up, I didn’t enjoy reading the Bible on my own. As I got older, I began the discipline of being in the Word consistently, and after a while, my day couldn’t start without time with God. My dependence on Him grew the more I abided in Him and His teaching.

But this year, my desire for God went from craving what His presence would give me (peace, rest, answers) and transformed into a desire for God Himself. To know Him more, to understand Him deeply, and to learn how He wants me to live–even at the cost of my own earthly desires.

God will continue to help me grow in my obedience to Him, especially as I learn to trust Him more each day. I’m still at the beginning of this stage of my faith journey, but I’m so thankful for His grace and patience with me, even when I fall into temptation or trust in my own judgement rather than His divine wisdom.

Though the world feels dim and dark, I pray that we will shine brightly with the hope found in Jesus as we look forward to our reunion with Him.

What are you thankful to God for today?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 (NIV)

10 Takeaways from Being 19

Encouragement along the journey.

In just a few days, I will be entering a new decade of life! I’ve been reminded that when I feel stuck, it’s important to look back to even a year ago and realize how many things God has brought me through or taught me about in just twelve months.

In honor of my upcoming birthday, here are 10 things I’ve learned from being 19:

  1. God always answers prayers

But…I’ve had to redefine what the word “answer” means. If you ask someone a question and they say, “I’ll have an answer for you by tomorrow”, that answer could be a variety of things. It could be a resounding yes or a sympathetic no.

I’ve come to realize that most often, God’s answer isn’t my version of a “yes” or “no”. Rather, it’s something completely unexpected that may involve loss and difficulty but will lead me to the place where I’m meant to be.

2. Hardships cultivate empathy

If you let them, hardships can be the best way to connect with others on a meaningful level. Opening your eyes to understanding how God may use your past or present difficulties can cause you to have deeper peace.

3. Rest matters

Never have I ever had a year where rest has been so critical to maintaining healthy boundaries, keeping a clear mindset, and showing myself love. And when we rest, we are better able to step into our workplaces and relationships with patience and grace.

4. Counseling is important, but only Jesus brings full healing

Hear me out on this one. I will always be in support of counseling and mental health care, but after undergoing counseling treatment for the first time last fall, I realized my expectations for it weren’t completely realistic. When we expect human treatments to fix all our problems, we will never experience complete satisfaction. But when treatments supplement our reliance on and relationship with God, we will receive the healing that our bodies long for, even if it’s a slow process.

5. Keep an open Bible

This one I learned from my boss, who is a pastor. When in meetings or in prayer, there is something profound about keeping your Bible open even after you’re done reading it. It’s an image of allowing the Holy Spirit to speak into your decisions and guide your thoughts.

6. Go for daily walks

I’m no athlete, but getting fresh air every day has been one of the things that has kept me alert and grounded through dealing with life online and having a busy schedule. Being surrounded by nature or at least breathing in new air reminds me of God’s creativity and grace.

7. When you ask for patience, you will get patience

This year has been filled with many trying situations and relationships. There have been moments when I’ve wanted to escape from it all, but God has always pulled me back and pushed me to stay on track. Recently, I’ve realized that patience, a trait that I’ve lacked on many occasions, has been growing inside me. Last night I looked at my list of goals for this year, and becoming more patient was one of them. What do you know? 😉

While a difficult goal, one that’s still being cultivated for me, patience is something God seems to delight in helping us work on.

8. People change, and that is a beautiful thing

I used to be terrified of change, and it’s still not my favorite thing. However, change allows us to be transformed into the purposeful creation God has made us to be. And when we try to keep people in a box of past expectations, we lose sight of how they are also being shaped into healthier individuals. When we make space for growth in relationships, we will start to gain more understanding, empathy, and even joy.

9. Callings may shift over time

God shouldn’t be limited to only giving us one calling during our lifetime. Rather, our calling may shift throughout different seasons and we may be led out of circumstances that we had been brought into. Over the past year, I’ve stepped away from two major places where I had been previously called. While it felt unnatural and even a little terrifying, following God without knowing what comes next has been vital to growing my trust in Him.

10. Don’t let anyone underestimate you

Recently I’ve been in several circles where I’ve been the youngest one. I’ve definitely felt out of place and even unqualified at times. But then God reminded me that even though I’m young, I still have gifts to bring.

Age is such a subjective matter. We may seem old to those fewer in years or unlearned to those farther along on their journey. But God sees our full potential and will use us as much as we are willing.

I have two wishes for you on this beautiful day:

That you may find joy along the journey and chase light wherever it takes you, even if it means trying a new path or setting a new boundary for the sake of rest

And

That you always know you are never alone and that God will be there to see you through whatever battles you face.

May you go through every day with love and grace.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Stepping Into Another Year of Life

A little note on birthdays 🙂

I realized yesterday that I’ve never posted on my birthday, always the day after. But this year is the time for something different.

I love this quote on birthdays by Morgan Harper Nichols:

Take heart.

The value of your life

is not measured in calendar years.

When I was a kid, I used to enjoy the presents and the time with friends for my birthday, but I would also dread getting older. Why be ten when I loved being nine?

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve felt the pressure to speed up the aging process in order to be respected. It’s a compliment to be seen as more mature than you really are.

And I suppose once I hit my 30’s or 40’s, I’ll want to be young again. So the cycle continues.

I think this with a chuckle: We are never really satisfied, are we?

As C.S. Lewis once put it, we are created with an eternal purpose and an eternal soul within us, which means only eternal things can satisfy us.

This year has been a reminder to put everything in God’s hands. Our plans, our dreams, even what we think we need, can change with the flip of a switch. Everything can be gone in an instant, even what we once thought was love.

Except God’s love, of course. That lasts forever.

It’s been painful to realize that things not going smoothly isn’t a sign that I’m not abiding by God’s will. It may very well be that God steered me down an uncomfortable path for a reason. It means that things will hurt and parts of my life will get pruned. But it’s all necessary for beautiful growth.

So today, at the end of a very long year that simultaneously went by in a snap, I will just say one thing:

Cherish what you have while you have it. The loved ones, the opportunities, the peace. But never hold onto anything too tightly, except for God. We float through life like a feather in the wind. But we are headed in the direction–the best direction possible–that God has in mind for us.

So don’t waste away the present by worrying about the future. Instead, hold onto hope as you move forward with a smile, knowing that maybe tomorrow will be a little bit better. ❤

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17