Hope – Page 31 – The Will to Wake Up

Thank You

Happy One Year Anniversary to this blog! How have you changed over the course of the year?

Today is my one year anniversary of posting on this blog! Thank YOU for being amazing. I hope this has been an encouragement to you, because that is the sole purpose of this blog, to spread encouragement and remind you of God’s love.

As I may have mentioned before, the day I started this blog was rough. It was actually the day after one of the worst nights of my life. I’m the type of person to bottle everything up inside, and it pretty much all exploded that day.

I’ve realized why I was so broken. It was because I was putting my faith in people and in circumstances. I was too afraid of losing what I had instead of focusing on what had been given to me in that moment.

I struggle a lot with really staying in the moment. I would say that I’m generally optimistic, but I do worry a lot about the future and about my relationships. I think that things will only get better if _____ happens.

But I need to stop.

And remember.

I have everything I need already.

And so do you.

You may not feel that way at all, and a lot of the time, I don’t either. But it’s true. God never gives us anything too big for us to handle when we have Him by our side. He can turn any situation around in ways we can’t even fathom. That’s what ended up happening with two of the things I had been so stressed about a year ago.

One of those things had to do with an important person in my life. I was worried that we would drift apart, and although that kind of happened for a season, we ended up becoming closer than we had been originally over the course of a few months. I just had to be patient.

For the other thing, I thought that we were going to have to put my dog down, who was my best friend and closest companion, the only one I ever really shared my emotions with. Well, God spared him for several more months, and because of that scare, I was able to actually celebrate those months and make the most of my time with him.

God allows us to go through difficult days, months, seasons, even years. But He promises us that we are never alone during those times. And in the end, I think you’ll realize why God allowed you to go through those hardships. It’s so hard to think ahead when we’re still in the eye of the storm. But if you keep your eyes on God and allow His peace to flow through you, then however long it takes will be worth it.

In the moment, those few months felt like eternity. But looking back, so much has changed in the course of a year. I’m still here, even when I doubted it sometimes. Life has changed very drastically for all of us, I’m sure.

But there’s one thing that doesn’t change, and that’s God. He will always be our source of perfect love, perfect stability, and perfect justice.

So today, if you have the chance, think back to where you were a year ago today. Have you changed as a person? How have your difficulties over the course of a year actually brought you closer to God?

And remember, there is so much to be thankful for. I guarantee that if you stop and really think about who you love, how God has blessed you, even in the small areas of life, that you’ll feel a bit more joyful.

Thank you for one year! Treat yourself to something sweet and virtually celebrate with me! 😉

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17

God Gives Us

God’s love will sustain us even when we feel alone.

Today is National Encouragement Day! So, of course I had to share something that hopefully you find as encouraging as I did today 🙂

I personally find little kids to be a great source of honesty, joy, and a reminder about both the deep and simple parts of life. I was babysitting a little girl this morning, and we were making a craft project taken from a previous Sunday school class. It was a musical shaker that had paired along with a lesson about giving thanks and worshiping God.

After the little girl had a satisfied smile on her face, putting the cap back on her marker after decorating the paper plate Tamborine with crowns and hearts, she studied mine for a moment.

“What does this say?” She asked, pointing to my example.

“It says ‘God gives us’.” I replied. “Then I wrote things that God gives us, like love, joy, and hope.”

“I want mine to have those words too. Can you help me spell them?”

I smiled. “Sure.” Soon, she had found a new marker and spelled out “God gives us”. After that, she decided she didn’t want to do the words the same way I had.

Turning to me for a moment, tilting her head, she asked, “Could you tell me how to spell ‘hope when love is gone’?”

My eyes widened in surprise, since this seemed like an odd statement for a five-year-old to want to write on her craft project. But the more I’ve been thinking about it, the more I’ve realized how profound those words truly are.

We’ve all had a time where we’ve felt betrayed, unloved, or unappreciated. That’s because human love isn’t perfect. Sometimes, there are cases where it is so close that it feels perfect, but it never can be because people aren’t perfect. God’s love is the only love that can truly satisfy us.

Of course, God wants us to love others and to be loved. But He wants us to come to Him for our ultimate fulfillment and renewal of perfect love before we try extending it and receiving it from others. And when we feel heartbroken, we can still have hope because there is still someone out there that truly, sacrificially, undeniably loves us. The One who knew that the world would be made better with us on it. The One who died for us. The One who is always with us and the only One we can rely on.

Jesus.

I sure hope that you aren’t feeling brokenhearted today. I hope that you are feeling loved and cared for by others. But wherever your heart is today, I want you to still have hope. God loves you so much. No matter what’s going on in the world, between the division, the fires, the virus, and the longstanding issues we’ve been facing, God is still good. God still has a purpose for you. You don’t have to fear, because God is with you.

God loves you so much. ❤

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4:7-8

Surrounding Yourself With Encouragement

Today is the start of Encouragement Thursdays, where I’ll post a message God has been bringing to my attention over the past week!

I have noticed a rather humorous trend on my social media platforms these days. Instead of scrolling through pictures of friends and family, I seem to be scrolling through endless inspirational quotes and tidbits of advice. This was certainly unintentional, following so many accounts that are run by strangers who want to brighten others’ days, but I feel like God has used these daily messages to bring hope to my life.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed a trend of negativity and finger-pointing lately in the media, in our communities, and perhaps even within our close circles of friends/family. There is a lot of division in our world today.

That’s why I believe–now more than ever– that we need to surround ourselves with encouragement. Whether it’s unfollowing negative, or even hurtful people, and following those who post inspirational content, or going out of your way to plaster Bible verses on your walls. Make sure to surround yourself with encouraging people, at least one friend who brings you closer to God and makes you feel better after spending time with them.

I have another proposition, and that would be to start posting Encouraging Thursdays, where I share something I learned from over the past week by looking out for encouraging messages.

Today’s Encouraging Thursday quote is this:

“Avoidance is the greatest risk of all.”

I saw this quote a day after I made the decision to go ahead with doing a task–albeit a small one, but even those matter– that I felt God was calling me to do. Even though the event has not yet happened, this reminded me that it’s better potentially embarrassing myself than regretting not taking action at all. I don’t have to think later on that there was more I could do. I can feel satisfied in knowing that I will have done everything I can humanly do to help this person.

Is there something in your life that you are on the fence about doing? Maybe it’s taking a new job, talking to a new person, or having a difficult, but important, conversation. Whatever it is for you, pray about it, and if you feel peace and think that God wants you to do it, then go for it! You will never know what would have happened unless you do your part to make it happen.

I hope this was encouraging for you, and I’ll try to keep up these Encouraging Thursdays! Today try to find a book, quote, or have a conversation with an encouraging person in your life. It might just make today amazing!

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2

The Next Level With God

Are you feeling tested or challenged in your faith? Keep reading for some encouragement.

The closer you get to God, the harder the enemy is going to make your life.

But I have some encouragement for you.

It might not “feel” harder.

I have an exercise bike, and when I first got it, the lowest speed was a good workout. But now, after owning it for several years, I need to have it at a significantly harder level in order to even feel like I’m exercising.

This might seem like an odd analogy, but bear with me here.

The longer my “relationship” with my exercise bike was, the more it took for me to be challenged, to grow, for the bike to do it’s purpose to strengthen me.

The same goes for our relationship with God. The longer we know Him and trust Him, the more we are capable of doing through Him. God will continue to strengthen us, and He promises to never give us anything we can’t handle. But that does mean that there will be difficult things in our lives that might test us. So we need to be prepared, but not frightened.

Our purpose in life is to do God’s work, spreading His love and bringing more and more people to faith. We aren’t going to fulfill our purposes by sitting on the couch binging Netflix or hiding our faith from others when in public. We need to be open about how God has helped us become who we are today. We shouldn’t force our beliefs on others, but we should be ready to share God’s love with them.

I’m not telling you all this to bring on the pressure or to scare you. I’m telling you this because I know you can handle what God’s going to do through you. I know that you are brave, determined, and resilient. But I also know that life can be terrifying, with all these unknowns ahead of us. Loss, heartbreak, and surprises could be around the next turn.

But so could be joy, peace, and hope. You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control your mindset. If you believe that God is working through every situation, then you don’t need to be afraid. God’s got this, and you’ve got this, and together you are an unstoppable team.

So today, don’t be afraid if you’re heading into a new level with God. He’s using this time to prepare you for amazing things that will change the lives of others. You just have to be willing to accept the new challenge and remember to not stay in the places that you’ve outgrown.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

Enduring Pain

If you feel stuck, trying to figure out if there is any good that can come from your pain, keep reading.

A random skill that most people wouldn’t know I have is being a pretty good back massager. You heard me right…and you’re probably wondering why you’re still reading!

Well, I’ll get to the point…soon. You know how we Nines love our stories 😉

My mom used to tell people that she had a daughter simply to get free back massages, and a small part of me occasionally wonders if that’s true considering the frequency at which she requests them. As humans age, as you may know from experience, they often experience muscle stiffness. Tonight I was helping my mom get a knot out of her back, and after the allotted time I had agreed to perform this service was up, I asked if she wanted me to continue. She laughed and replied, “I would like that, but I don’t think I can endure the pain.”

This part may not surprise you, if you know me at all. After she said that, I suddenly knew I had to blog. Not about muscles, weird skills, or getting old. But rather, about pain.

About a year ago, one of my first posts was about pain and how many people often use numbing mechanisms to avoid it. Little did I know that throughout this past year, I’ve struggled with dealing with my pain and negative emotions. I often choose to not feel things, but then that includes the positive, happy memories as well.

I think avoiding pain can be one of our biggest mistakes in life. The longer we avoid the pain, the longer we avoid the good that can come out of that pain. God does not take us through difficult seasons without a reason. He knows that there’s something better at the end, but we just have to persevere. And sometimes that means trying something again that may have previously hurt us.

Now, I’m not telling you to go and let people walk all over you. I don’t want you to get into a dangerous situation or go backwards on a process towards good health. But if God is calling you to try something again, whether it’s a relationship, a career, a hobby, or perhaps even just diving back in your Bible, then you should go for it.

We love making excuses as to why we can’t possibly embrace our pain. We tell ourselves that we can’t endure it. And we’re right, we can’t.

At least, we can’t alone.

But God is always with us and He will give us the strength to get through anything.

I’ve seen so many people go through things I could never imagine going through with such bravery. They continue to live for God, they continue to go about their daily lives, and they will still be heroes, such strong people, in my eyes when they admit their pain and sorrow.

Don’t allow fear of people’s reactions to affect how you grieve, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a relationship, or a forgotten dream. The ones who are meant to be in your life and really care about you will give you the space to feel what you need to feel.

I know it’s hard trying again. I know it’s hard doing what God calls us to do. I’m not going to sit here and expect you to suddenly change your life or do things that risk heartbreak alone. I’m going to try to get out of my comfort zone and figure out my emotions as well, in a healthy way.

I know that we can both get through whatever life throws at us because we are empowered by our Creator. God loves us and designed us to need Him, and when we turn to Him, we will overflow with His grace, courage, and perseverance.

I’ll be praying for you. Don’t give up. ❤

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:2

You are Never Alone

Whatever you’re going through, always remember that you are never alone.

“In her lowest place she found grace, the strength, the courage, the room, the space to move and live and breathe again.”
Morgan Harper Nichols

A lot of us find ourselves in a place where we truly believe we are alone. Forever alone.

Maybe a relationship ended. Maybe one never began. Maybe a longtime friendship fell apart. Maybe a loved one is gone. Or maybe the doubts are just seeping in more than usual.

Whatever place your in right now, I want you to close your eyes. Take a deep breath. You’re still here for a reason.

And it’s to touch others’ lives.

I know that right now that might be hard to believe. Some days feel just too difficult to get up, much less actually change the world.

What a large task, changing the world.

But the best news is, despite all that your mind is telling you, you’re never alone.

When I was first in that place where I needed to hear those words, I didn’t actually realize that it was a common phrase of encouragement. Sometimes when phrases become a second nature to us, we forget their true meaning.

So I feel fortunate that the time I heard it, I believed those words and felt like they were everything I needed to keep going.

Okay, maybe not everything. I still had doubts. I still felt alone sometimes.

But it gave me hope.

You may have heard the phrase “you are never alone” hundreds of times. Maybe they have lost their meaning for you. But I hope today that you can read them with fresh eyes. I wish I could say them to you in person.

I want you to feel them. Let them sink in.

You are never alone.

Now, you might think, Hannah, you don’t know what kind of situation I’m in!

That’s true, I don’t. I can’t pretend to understand what you are going through.

But I do know this. God will always be there waiting for you. He is the One who will not leave you alone in a pit of despair. He is the One who will lift you out and make you into His perfect creation.

I also know something else.

At least one person is praying for you. At least one person cares about you.

I am praying for you and I care about you. I don’t know anything about you, but I know that you are worthy of being cared about.

Nothing you did could ever separate you from the love of God. Absolutely nothing.

You are priceless. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Nothing about you can change that, either. Not your looks, your career, your quirks, your awkward moments, your mistakes.

Because those things aren’t going to last forever.

Love is the only thing that can truly bind us together, forever, with the One who gave us life in the first place.

So let love fill your heart. There is still hope. You will be able to love again. You will be loved again. And you are currently loved by the One who knows how to love the best.

And remember, no matter what you are facing, you are never alone.

The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Jeremiah 31:3

Surrender

Don’t let what appears to be a fight with a person sway you from your purpose of loving others.

We all have our weaknesses. Every character, whether an average person or a superhero, has their one flaw (at least one!). That’s one of the most accurate parts of media, I think, is revealing that we are all human whether we like to believe it or not.

The thing is, it’s super easy to pick out someone else’s flaws, but it’s rather difficult to find our own. We don’t like to admit that we’re selfish, inconsiderate, or quick tempered. We don’t want to think that while we’re hurt by others, we are also capable of causing the hurt.

Sometimes God uses people to test us, to see if we are really loving, patient, and kind.

We can show all the compassion and sweetness in the world to the people who don’t push our buttons as easily. We can talk all day about how we are going to spread Jesus’ love when we are surrounded by people we find easy to be kind to.

But when that person comes around who always just says the wrong thing? That thing that makes you want to escape yourself and silence them. Perhaps it’s a family member or a friend. Maybe this person isn’t even that close to you, yet you must see them on a regular basis.

We all have that person who just gets under our skin and tests us.

I recently have felt surrounded by people who have in the past and are currently just driving me crazy. But this time, I’m realizing that perhaps it’s because I’m letting them.

I’m letting my temper get away from me. I’m letting my feelings of bitterness overwhelm God’s voice in my life.

Today’s sermon from my church was about Jesus being kind and healing the daughter of a woman from a community that had, in the past, been against His own. Yet, Jesus was impressed by her faith and used her as an example to His own community for what true faith should look like.

God can use anyone for His glory, even the people that get on our nerves.

And chances are, He’s even using them to change you, too.

Perhaps God is convicting you of these hard feelings you have against them. Or maybe it’s your own personality flaw that needs to get worked on.

I know I have so many things I struggle with and sometimes these people are testing me to see if I will fall back on my old ways of living.

Don’t let the enemy win. That’s who you are really in a battle against, not your friend, or family member, or neighbor. No. It’s the enemy trying to get you to falter.

Don’t give him that satisfaction.

Instead, let these people help you grow into a patient, truly loving person, who God is so proud of.

I know you can do this. Let God’s voice speak into your life, whether it is something you may not have wanted to hear, like conviction, or something to encourage you.

Today is the first day of the future for you. No need to turn back. You can start fresh today.

Today you can finally surrender those feelings of resentment, that annoyance you feel towards that person, or persons.

I am praying that you can get through this. God is with you.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
Matthew 7:3-4

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:37

Driven By Fear

“Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem to be more afraid of life than death.”
— James F. Byrnes

You don’t have to be afraid anymore.

You heard me right. Repeat it. Write it on your hand, a piece of paper, your journal. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.

You’re probably thinking, “Hannah, we’re in the middle of a global pandemic right now. Remember?”

Yeah, it’s painful obvious to me. But I also have found through this time in quarantine that the quote “the only thing to fear is fear itself” is literally one of the most accurate things ever.

Fear is what holds us back. Let me prove my point.

We get angry at other people and that ruins relationships, right? It’s because we are afraid of what would happen if they won or if they didn’t get what they “deserved”.

We worry about people and end up criticizing them because of that fear that they won’t turn out right. Again…fear is the driving force behind breaking the relationship or straining it.

We don’t do things that could build others up, strengthen us, or give us new perspective, causing us to feel trapped. We regret things because we give into fear and let go of trust.

We need to flip that around. We need to give into trust and let go of fear.

Of course I’m saying that we should be careful and mindful of others. We shouldn’t just allow people to do whatever they want when they are hurting others or themselves. But we need to realize that we aren’t in control of anything except our mindsets. And if we trust God, we can have hope, joy, and peace. We don’t have to be afraid.

Fear has caused me great grief in the past. But I’m learning alongside you to let go.

Today, let Jesus’ love be enough. Let yourself realize that you are protected. Nothing happens without it being meant to happen. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.

Freedom sounds so fresh. We long for it right now. So take a hold of the driver’s seat and push fear aside. You’re in control of what’s going on in that head of yours, not fear. Don’t let fear win. Let love win. And I guarantee that you will suddenly feel a burden lift and the skies opening up for you. We can get through this together.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
1 John 4:8

Trusting God Through Everything

First of all, I’d like to apologize since I was really getting into the groove of posting regularly, just to abruptly stop even though right now is the perfect time to share encouragement (even though I believe every moment is a good time for encouragement), but especially through all of the changes going on in our lives right now with the Coronavirus. People are stressed, worried about catching the virus, losing their jobs, loved-ones getting it, and maybe even how to stay sane while feeling isolated from others.

Before I go on any further, please know that all of you out there are in my prayers. I know that many are going through much severer times than I am right now. I feel very fortunate that my grandparents in Hong Kong are okay, people are trying to do the right thing and stay home to protect others around me, and much of my family is staying employed. However, I know that is not the case for many people, and I am determined to do my part to encourage those who may have hit their rockiest time right now, and if there’s anything I can do for you specifically, let me know.

I recently saw a video from a singer that I follow, and her message was that you can say that you trust someone as much as you want, but you can never truly know if you do until it’s put to the test. You have to have that trust be put into action for it to go into effect.

For example, if your friend claims that you can tell her anything, you won’t really know if you believed that statement until you tell her something personal. Or when a little kid is stuck inside a burning building, he has to demonstrate his trust for his parents by being willing to jump out the window into their arms, knowing that they will catch him.

This virus and all the consequences surrounding it are a test to see if we really trust God.

I have noticed a startling pattern in my life. Often during my hardest times in my relationship with God, the thing that has brought me back has been when I truly had no other option but to trust God, and He’s always been able to pull through. Now, I’m saying this while knowing that a lot of my prayers have not been answered the way I wanted them to. I’m going through some situations with people that are frustrating and some of them have ended up poorly, even if I prayed about them. That doesn’t mean that God isn’t there for me.

I’m also not saying that it’s easy to trust God. It’s been really hard for me lately to trust Him, to be completely honest.

The other day, someone told me that I seemed to have great confidence in my faith. I wish that were true. I am confident that my faith has grown over the years, through difficult circumstances and through kindness poured out from others, or directly from God in the Bible. But you don’t have to be without doubts to trust God. You just have to be willing to not simply think “I trust God”, but to actually apply it in your life. You have to not only pray that God will help you, but stop worrying about it. If you are actively looking for God’s hand in your life, you will find it. That I am sure of.

For all those Disney fans out there, I have to say that one of my all-time favorite scenes is where Aladdin has his hand stretched out to Jasmine and he says, “Do you trust me?” I personally think that this is one of the most romantic scenes in all of the Disney movies I’ve seen because it shows a depth in their relationship and a true conflict that many face in their relationships.

Unlike Jasmine, who barely has any reasons to actually trust Aladdin, we have a multitude of reasons why we should trust God. Take a look at His promises in the Bible. Think about the narrow escapes you’ve made in your own life, or what God’s done in other people’s lives. We have reason to trust God through this difficult time, and others to come.

God is asking you always the same question– “Do you trust me?”

So the question is, are you willing to make the leap of faith to prove your answer?

“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.”
Psalm 5:11

True Joy = Releasing Control

Returning to Our Regularly Scheduled Program…

So…remember how I said I would be talking about joy as my first “series”? Remember how that was like…five months ago or something? Well, as you can see, I often go off topic and somehow wander back, ha-ha. Anyway, I have been thinking about joy again, so I wanted to pop into this series again, although I’m not sure if my next post will be related to joy, we’ll see.

Inherited Control-Freakness

I come from a long line of control freaks. I’m not being judgmental when I say this, they are self-proclaimed. I, myself, am also a bit of a control freak. I might not seem like it on the surface level, because I tend to go along with what other people want and I try to be flexible because I care deeply about pleasing others. However, I am actually quite stubborn, and I inwardly panic whenever things don’t go the way I plan.

I am more like this when I am placed in leadership positions or just when planning my own life, but my family often tries to control one another. A certain member of my family sets out what the other person must eat for lunch each day, and gets irritated if that person does not eat it. Money, food, how a room is decorated…those are just a few things that I often have to argue about with my family because I get frustrated with them trying to control me.

Am I saying that planning is a bad thing? NO!!!! I am definitely not, because you should be prepared and it’s silly to go into situations and build more stress for yourself if you don’t prepare. However, I am saying that at some point, the only way to have full faith in God and in His plan for your life is going along with “God’s flow”.

Going with the Flow

So I have this friend, and we occasionally talk about the future. Every time, he repeatedly states how he just “goes with the flow” and acts like he has no control over his life. Later on, I talked to another guy and he basically said the same thing. I feel like the world is often split into two groups: The Planners and the Floaters. Neither are wrong, yet neither are right.

Going with the flow may appear to relieve more stress and show more faith in God. But God will only work with you if you’re willing to actually, you know, do your part? Frankly, I feel like going with the flow in ALL areas of your life might actually add more stress because you often step into situations and are faced with a bunch of decisions that have to be made on the spot. I am horrible at that, so I could never float through life that way. However, there are definitely decisive people out there, so if that works for you, I’m glad.

The combination of going with the flow and always being prepared is going with God’s flow. I know that sounds a little silly, but that’s the only name I can think of that accurately depicts what I’m speaking of.

Going with God’s flow means that you are trusting God and not freaking out when things don’t go the way you anticipated. However, it also means that you are willing to work hard and still prepare for the future, not just expecting things to somehow work out.

How Does this Relate to Joy?

Have you ever stressed over something, an event perhaps, that you were in charge of. You were so panicked that by the end of it, you wanted to just go away and never be in charge again? While others enjoyed themselves, you spent the night stressing over everything and worrying that things weren’t going to work out. In that situation, you are missing out on having a good time, or experiencing joy.

In another situation, you may have planned every last detail down to the tablecloth design and then everything still ends up going poorly. Believe me, this has happened to me on numerous occasions and I can feel your pain! But because you were so disappointed and discouraged, you never took the time to learn from the experience. And in a way, this also causes you to lose joy because you may end up making the same mistakes in the future.

I don’t believe that joy and fear can coexist, as I stated in a previous post, and trying to control everything is a way of demonstrating fear. It’s basically telling God to His face that you don’t trust Him and you think you know more than Him.

Ouch, that wasn’t what I was thinking when I freaked out over not being able to decide the location for my last meeting, was I?

It’s easy to not realize what our little habits are doing to destroy our lives and our relationship with God. But the more ingrained these thought patterns become, thinking “oh, if only things had gone the way I had planned” or getting angry with people, the more we lose track of who we are supposed to be: joyful humans who are sharing the love of God. It’s easy to let negative thoughts fill our heads. We think that criticizing ourselves for something we can’t control is okay, and it’s not. That is ultimately shaping our actions and our opinions of ourselves.

So today, try to let loose a little bit and see what happens. Trust God and believe that even if things don’t go exactly the way you want, maybe something better was actually waiting for you. It hopefully will also help your relationships too.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
~Matthew 6:25