Lesson Sixteen: We have a perfect Love Story.
Some of the things I plan on writing somewhat go with my last post. But God can't stop pounding this point in my head, so I feel the need to write on what He's telling me.
Yesterday concluded the end of the Love Series at my youth group. I always did hate love month. When I was single it was because it reminded me of what I didn't have (a boyfriend). When I was in a relationship, I was reminded that I've screwed up and need to repent. Now, it seems like another painful reminder that I gave up someone who I love and who everyone would describe as the 'perfect guy'. During our small groups, the girls starting talking about what think the perfect love story is. Some said things like, "I want to meet my true love in high school and be high school sweethearts," or "I want to fall in love at first sight" or even, "I'm going to wait for God to tell me who I'm going to marry."
While things like that do happen, I couldn't help but wonder, "Why do we want that?" Why is it that we want a perfect love story? I think people often times pass up dates or taking a chance because it doesn't fit their ideal love story. How sad. What is wrong with just simply meeting someone, falling in love, and then simply getting married and growing old together? Why does it have to be a perfect love story where God makes it so clear, or we meet the one early on, etc etc? No offense to anyone who believes any of the things I've mentioned, but really? You're waiting for failure and a long life of singleness.
But yesterday as I was driving home, I realized we already have the perfect love story. Jesus. He showed the greatest love to all of us and it's the perfect love story. He died and conquered sin, just so we could be with Him. I always love it when my pastor refers to the Bible as Love Letters. It's so profound and sweet. I think we often times pass up opportunities with people because we expect our love story with our spouse to be just as amazing as Jesus' love story to us. It won't be. Not even close. I can't expect a knight or prince to just come and find me like Jesus did. If I've discovered anything, it's that love comes unexpectedly. I didn't expect Jesus to love me, but He does. So I shouldn't expect this perfect love story on Earth, I've already got one. Besides, when I marry the person I'm meant to be with, it won't matter how we got there. I'm there, that's all that matters.
~Alyssa (SailorD)
Yes, yes. No Sailor Moon illustration. Anime's always manage to make every love story cute so it doesn't work for this post haha!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Stop Searching
Lesson 15: I need to stop searching and focus on God.
I feel like it's been a while since I've written on here. I've been busy with school and the move to my new condo that I haven't really had time to just sit and write. At least that's what it feels like. Anywho, this lesson has been very real in my life, but I was reminded of it greatly yesterday while I was moving.
I believe I've mentioned before that I have a hard time letting go of my future. I like things to be planned out and I like planning for my future. I think it's fun! But it also shows a big insecurity in me. I don't like focusing on the here and now. I'm constantly searching for the puzzle pieces to complete my story. Why am I in such a rush to complete my puzzle? There's so much life to live and for some reason I want to skip it! Perhaps I'm scared of the pain that comes with life, but I know deep down that the joy I will feel and God's strength will far outweigh the pain.
Well, yesterday I was painful reminded that I'm still dependent. As independent as I try to appear, deep down I long to be dependent on someone. When I was in a relationship, I depended on him so much that I almost replaced God with him. I think that's when I also became depressed. I switched my reliance on God to a reliance on a person. People disappoint us. Simple truth. While my ex was absolutely incredible and he was there for me, there was only so much he could do. He couldn't do what God does, so why did I expect him to?
So here I am, single and so desperately wanting to rely on someone. You know, I was able to convince myself that I was okay with being single for a while. But if I'm completely honest, I'm not. It wasn't until I was finally able to admit that yesterday that God began to speak to my heart again. I need to protect my heart and rely on God, not a boyfriend. Don't get me wrong, of course I should trust people and share my thoughts and concerns, but I shouldn't rely on them. To often when I'm hurt, I go to others immediately instead of consulting God first. I bet if I did that first, I wouldn't have to go to people as often as I do. In fact, I know that's true. Happened at Hume a couple of times.
Back to my original point (on the title), I felt God urging me to Stop Searching. At first I was like, "What the heck?" But it made sense as I meditated on it. When I became a Christian, I wasn't searching for God when we meet. I wasn't looking to be saved. When I accepted Jesus, I accepted Him because I realized I needed him. He found me. Going back to my puzzle illustration, often times when I'm looking for that one puzzle piece I can never find it until I've given up and start looking for another one or better yet when I look at the whole puzzle. Generally speaking, we never find what we're looking for when we search for it. It's when our guard is down that we 'find' it.
Cheezy Sailor Moon illustration starts here: Serena wasn't looking for Darren when she found him. She wasn't looking for love when she found that. She wasn't looking for answers when she found those. She was focusing on the Good Fight. She was fighting for love and justice when those things appeared to her (episode 30!). Just as it is with Sailor Moon, I need to be fighting for God, focusing my attention on his will and on Heaven, then those things will come to be too.
Abba, here I am. I know I stray away from your path many times, but your light and gentle hand always guides me back. Thank you.
~Alyssa (SSD)
P.S: Rereading this post, it seems a little scatter-brained to me. Whatever, deal with it.
I feel like it's been a while since I've written on here. I've been busy with school and the move to my new condo that I haven't really had time to just sit and write. At least that's what it feels like. Anywho, this lesson has been very real in my life, but I was reminded of it greatly yesterday while I was moving.
I believe I've mentioned before that I have a hard time letting go of my future. I like things to be planned out and I like planning for my future. I think it's fun! But it also shows a big insecurity in me. I don't like focusing on the here and now. I'm constantly searching for the puzzle pieces to complete my story. Why am I in such a rush to complete my puzzle? There's so much life to live and for some reason I want to skip it! Perhaps I'm scared of the pain that comes with life, but I know deep down that the joy I will feel and God's strength will far outweigh the pain.
Well, yesterday I was painful reminded that I'm still dependent. As independent as I try to appear, deep down I long to be dependent on someone. When I was in a relationship, I depended on him so much that I almost replaced God with him. I think that's when I also became depressed. I switched my reliance on God to a reliance on a person. People disappoint us. Simple truth. While my ex was absolutely incredible and he was there for me, there was only so much he could do. He couldn't do what God does, so why did I expect him to?
So here I am, single and so desperately wanting to rely on someone. You know, I was able to convince myself that I was okay with being single for a while. But if I'm completely honest, I'm not. It wasn't until I was finally able to admit that yesterday that God began to speak to my heart again. I need to protect my heart and rely on God, not a boyfriend. Don't get me wrong, of course I should trust people and share my thoughts and concerns, but I shouldn't rely on them. To often when I'm hurt, I go to others immediately instead of consulting God first. I bet if I did that first, I wouldn't have to go to people as often as I do. In fact, I know that's true. Happened at Hume a couple of times.
Back to my original point (on the title), I felt God urging me to Stop Searching. At first I was like, "What the heck?" But it made sense as I meditated on it. When I became a Christian, I wasn't searching for God when we meet. I wasn't looking to be saved. When I accepted Jesus, I accepted Him because I realized I needed him. He found me. Going back to my puzzle illustration, often times when I'm looking for that one puzzle piece I can never find it until I've given up and start looking for another one or better yet when I look at the whole puzzle. Generally speaking, we never find what we're looking for when we search for it. It's when our guard is down that we 'find' it.
Cheezy Sailor Moon illustration starts here: Serena wasn't looking for Darren when she found him. She wasn't looking for love when she found that. She wasn't looking for answers when she found those. She was focusing on the Good Fight. She was fighting for love and justice when those things appeared to her (episode 30!). Just as it is with Sailor Moon, I need to be fighting for God, focusing my attention on his will and on Heaven, then those things will come to be too.
Abba, here I am. I know I stray away from your path many times, but your light and gentle hand always guides me back. Thank you.
~Alyssa (SSD)
P.S: Rereading this post, it seems a little scatter-brained to me. Whatever, deal with it.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Confrontation
Lesson fourteen: Confrontation is hard.
You know, I always considered myself a pacifist. I was always a people pleaser and I did just about anything to avoid conflict. Part of me did that because I was just shy and another part of me did that because I thought it was Biblical. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matt. 5:9). While that Bible verse stands true, it's definitely not saying people should never confront one another like I thought it did. I was a pacifist.... and then I became a manager.
Now? I can confront someone with no problem. I'm not afraid to speak my mind and I don't care if that makes me the "Bad Guy". I remember the first time I wrote someone up, I was so nervous that I doubted I could be a manager. But as time has passed, I've learned that it's okay to confront people as long as you do it with love and kindness. While I've managed to pretty much master the confrontation part, I have yet to learn to do it completely in love and kindness. I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of mean when I confront people, especially my employees. It's so hard to be kind to people who take advantage of kindness, you know? They assume because you're being kind that you don't really mean what you're saying to them, or at least that's been my experience. I think I eventually got done with being nice, and just stopped caring what people thought about me (that's another reason I was a pacifist). I'm don't care that people are talking crap about me, I only confront people when I know something isn't right and it needs to be corrected. If people are going to talk about me because I'm doing my job, then go right ahead.
It's not my job to please people, so don't get mad at me for doing what is my job. "Am I trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10). I'll admit, part of my heart breaks when I hear people don't like me or talk badly about me. I don't think of myself as a hard person to get along with, but I also feel guilty because I feel I must have done something that doesn't please God or show His love to others. I just need to keep reminding myself when I confront people to do it out of kindness and gentleness.
This reminds me of the episode when Serena confronts Molly about a guy she likes. While it's different from some of the things I've mentioned, the application is still the same. It was extremely difficult for Serena to tell Molly how she felt about the situation, but she ultimately did it out of love. I can think of a million examples where the Scouts face this issue, but it always comes down to them doing it out of love and kindness. I love how kind and gentle the Scout's hearts are, it's one of the reasons I look up to them.
Lord, my prayer is that you clean my heart and fill it with your spirit. When I'm correcting someone (whether it be at work or friends), let it be with the same gentle heart as your Son. I know I don't always set a good example of you, and I pray that you'll make me more like you. I love you Daddy.
~Alyssa
P.S: I apologize, this post is slightly a work rant post, can you tell???
You know, I always considered myself a pacifist. I was always a people pleaser and I did just about anything to avoid conflict. Part of me did that because I was just shy and another part of me did that because I thought it was Biblical. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matt. 5:9). While that Bible verse stands true, it's definitely not saying people should never confront one another like I thought it did. I was a pacifist.... and then I became a manager.
Now? I can confront someone with no problem. I'm not afraid to speak my mind and I don't care if that makes me the "Bad Guy". I remember the first time I wrote someone up, I was so nervous that I doubted I could be a manager. But as time has passed, I've learned that it's okay to confront people as long as you do it with love and kindness. While I've managed to pretty much master the confrontation part, I have yet to learn to do it completely in love and kindness. I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of mean when I confront people, especially my employees. It's so hard to be kind to people who take advantage of kindness, you know? They assume because you're being kind that you don't really mean what you're saying to them, or at least that's been my experience. I think I eventually got done with being nice, and just stopped caring what people thought about me (that's another reason I was a pacifist). I'm don't care that people are talking crap about me, I only confront people when I know something isn't right and it needs to be corrected. If people are going to talk about me because I'm doing my job, then go right ahead.
It's not my job to please people, so don't get mad at me for doing what is my job. "Am I trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10). I'll admit, part of my heart breaks when I hear people don't like me or talk badly about me. I don't think of myself as a hard person to get along with, but I also feel guilty because I feel I must have done something that doesn't please God or show His love to others. I just need to keep reminding myself when I confront people to do it out of kindness and gentleness.
This reminds me of the episode when Serena confronts Molly about a guy she likes. While it's different from some of the things I've mentioned, the application is still the same. It was extremely difficult for Serena to tell Molly how she felt about the situation, but she ultimately did it out of love. I can think of a million examples where the Scouts face this issue, but it always comes down to them doing it out of love and kindness. I love how kind and gentle the Scout's hearts are, it's one of the reasons I look up to them.
Lord, my prayer is that you clean my heart and fill it with your spirit. When I'm correcting someone (whether it be at work or friends), let it be with the same gentle heart as your Son. I know I don't always set a good example of you, and I pray that you'll make me more like you. I love you Daddy.
~Alyssa
P.S: I apologize, this post is slightly a work rant post, can you tell???
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Unknown
Lesson 13: The Unknown is scary, but it is also an adventure.
You know what I've noticed? People always say they want change, but it's also one of their biggest fears. "I want to move out, but I'm scared of being on my own or the finances" or "I want to pursue this career and quit my job, but it's too risky," or "I want to be with someone, but I don't want to mess it up what we have," or "I want to tell my friend about Jesus, but I'm worried it will ruin our friendship." Leaving what is familiar is an extremely rough thing to do. I believe we as humans love what is familiar and comfortable, but deep down we also hate it. We long for a wild adventure, but we're too scared to go out and do it. We worry that if we do what it unknown, we'll lose what is familiar forever. Chances are, you will. That was one reason it took me so long to let go of my boyfriend was because we had been together for so long, just his voice and presencewas is comforting. I often think of how it is would be just to go back, but I know I can't.
God has called me into this adventure into the unknown. I don't know what he's doing, but he's guiding me in the dark. All we have is a small lamp (Psalm 119:105), only showing me enough light to get by. God knows where He's going, the lamp is merely a symbol of hope for me. I wish I could see further ahead, but God keeps whispering, "It's a surprise."
A was asked the other day by a deaf friend of mine what I want to do after I graduate. In all honesty? I couldn't answer him (and it wasn't because I didn't know how to sign it!). I thought, "I don't know? Get a job? Get married? Have kids?" Seems like a basic answer. Too be honest, I know even know if I want the latter two after I graduate. Don't get me wrong, I want those things. God has imprinted those things on my heart so deeply, but I just don't know anymore. I can't plan for something like that to happen right after I graduate (I tried that, and look where that ended!). Whatever God wants will happen. I'm scared of what this year will bring and is bringing. Here I am, single and getting ready to move out in a month. WHAT?! If I told myself that a year ago I would would have laughed and said, "You're crazy!" And perhaps there is some truth to that.
As I was writing this, I thought of how the Sailor Scouts handle the Unknown. In the English dub, a phrase they constantly repeat when in battle against someone new is, "Guys, I don't like this." Only seems natural that they hate going against something they aren't familiar with. Isn't the same true for us? When we come across something new or go through a major change our first thought is, "I don't like this." For example, going to Hume was one of the hardest changes I had to go through. All I kept thinking was, "I don't like this, I want to go home where it's safe and comfortable." But once I tackled it, I came to find that I liked the change. I think in order to experience growth we need change and to have faith as we wonder into the Unknown (Random, but I keep thinking of the Pokemon "Unknown" now since I keep upper casing that word. I'm so weird). Although the Unknown scares me, I know my Abba is leading me and he won't let me fall.
With all I am,
~Alyssa (SSD)
You know what I've noticed? People always say they want change, but it's also one of their biggest fears. "I want to move out, but I'm scared of being on my own or the finances" or "I want to pursue this career and quit my job, but it's too risky," or "I want to be with someone, but I don't want to mess it up what we have," or "I want to tell my friend about Jesus, but I'm worried it will ruin our friendship." Leaving what is familiar is an extremely rough thing to do. I believe we as humans love what is familiar and comfortable, but deep down we also hate it. We long for a wild adventure, but we're too scared to go out and do it. We worry that if we do what it unknown, we'll lose what is familiar forever. Chances are, you will. That was one reason it took me so long to let go of my boyfriend was because we had been together for so long, just his voice and presence
God has called me into this adventure into the unknown. I don't know what he's doing, but he's guiding me in the dark. All we have is a small lamp (Psalm 119:105), only showing me enough light to get by. God knows where He's going, the lamp is merely a symbol of hope for me. I wish I could see further ahead, but God keeps whispering, "It's a surprise."
A was asked the other day by a deaf friend of mine what I want to do after I graduate. In all honesty? I couldn't answer him (and it wasn't because I didn't know how to sign it!). I thought, "I don't know? Get a job? Get married? Have kids?" Seems like a basic answer. Too be honest, I know even know if I want the latter two after I graduate. Don't get me wrong, I want those things. God has imprinted those things on my heart so deeply, but I just don't know anymore. I can't plan for something like that to happen right after I graduate (I tried that, and look where that ended!). Whatever God wants will happen. I'm scared of what this year will bring and is bringing. Here I am, single and getting ready to move out in a month. WHAT?! If I told myself that a year ago I would would have laughed and said, "You're crazy!" And perhaps there is some truth to that.
As I was writing this, I thought of how the Sailor Scouts handle the Unknown. In the English dub, a phrase they constantly repeat when in battle against someone new is, "Guys, I don't like this." Only seems natural that they hate going against something they aren't familiar with. Isn't the same true for us? When we come across something new or go through a major change our first thought is, "I don't like this." For example, going to Hume was one of the hardest changes I had to go through. All I kept thinking was, "I don't like this, I want to go home where it's safe and comfortable." But once I tackled it, I came to find that I liked the change. I think in order to experience growth we need change and to have faith as we wonder into the Unknown (Random, but I keep thinking of the Pokemon "Unknown" now since I keep upper casing that word. I'm so weird). Although the Unknown scares me, I know my Abba is leading me and he won't let me fall.
With all I am,
~Alyssa (SSD)
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Bravery
Lesson Number Twelve: I need to be brave.
You know, I don't consider myself a very 'brave' person. Whenever I think of brave, I think, "A knight who is on his way to conquer the fire breathing dragon to save his princess." But I've come to learn that brave is so much more than the heroic term of brave (don't get me wrong, that's still a huge part!). I've come to find that being brave simply means to do something out of your comfort zone. Perhaps you (whoever you is) may have a different definition (and that's okay!), but this is what I believe. Let me explain.
The kid who stands up to the bully at school, he's brave, right? Well, why is he brave? "Well, he stood up for other people!" Yes, that's true. But it's so much more than that. He went out of his comfort zone to confront this bully. Did this kid want to do it? Did he feel comfortable standing up for himself and the school? Probably not. At least I imagine him not. To me, that's what makes this kid brave. The fact that he went outside of what was comfortable to do what was right.
On the less obvious side, I would also say that the person who gives up something valuable to them, but they know is bad or wrong is brave. Like, the person who quits smoking or other drugs. They are very brave in my eyes. They are giving up what makes them comfortable or relaxes them. This might be a poor example, but you get my point.
Now this leads to me. God has been asking me to be very brave lately. I keep finding myself wanting to go back to what's comfortable, but he's telling me "Be brave, you will get through this. I'm here." What more could I ever need than to have my Daddy tell me that? He's so encouraging! With his strength, I can be brave and I don't have to hide. And I have all my wonderful friends that he's blessed me with! I often forget how lucky I am (I really need to stop that).
The Sailor Scouts are spot on for this lesson. Almost every episode, the scouts are encouraging each other to Be Brave, whether it's fighting the bad guys or taking a test or confessing to a guy. That's definitely something I need to work on. I consider myself a pretty encouraging person, but I need to tell my friends this lesson of Being Brave. Being brave is almost never easy (I would probably even make the argument it's never easy). Haha, that famous quote from Lion King keeps popping into my head. "I'm only Brave when I have to be. Simba, being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble." Kind of random, kind of not. Well, I'll end here. Thank you Abba, for making me brave and giving me the strength to be brave.
~Alyssa (Sailor Star Defender)
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Letting go
Lesson 11: I need to let go, and let God.
Huh. What can I say about this lesson? Well, it's made a huge impact in my life, as I'm sure it has with every Follower of Christ. First, I had to let go of my life and say it's for Him. Then, I had to surrender the little and big things in my life. For example, I had a hard time letting go of my anger towards someone. Forgiving him was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and it required me to let go. Every time I thought I let go, I second guessed myself and pulled the weight back in. Until finally, I had enough and I was done with being angry. The only person it was affecting was myself and the people who cared so much about me and prayed for me. I finally let go, and let God.
Since then (oh, three/four years ago?), I thought I was pretty good at this lesson. I didn't have a whole lot of trouble letting go, except for friendships. I had (still do) a hard time letting go of friends. I've lost so many that it takes me a long time to let go of them. The Scouts never had to let go of each other, why the heck can't I find someone who will stick with me no matter what? It took me over 6 years to realize that my best friend wasn't my best friend anymore. How sad is that? Anywho, that leads us to today. About 6 months ago, I let go of the best thing that had happened to me since Jesus saved me, my boyfriend. I didn't want to, and I ignored God's calling to let him go for 6-8 months. It took 3 months at Hume for God to finally say, "Enough, listen to me. Obey what I am telling you, I will take care of you."
After the most painful hour and half phone call, and three days of nearly starving myself, I did it. I let him go... as my boyfriend, and only as my boyfriend. Okay, and it took me about a month to finally accept that he was no longer my boyfriend. And you know what? I surprised myself. After that short month, I was okay with him not being my boyfriend. I was okay with just being friends. But, I was not okay with letting him go all together. Heck, I'm still not. I love him, and he's the best friend I've ever had. I told him everything (everything up until 6 months ago that is). I held nothing back from him and neither did he. I loved that I didn't have to hide anything, he was the first person I could do that with. So now, here I am and God's call to let him go as a friend is stronger than ever. It's not something I can ignore. I need to let him go, for his sake and mine. I just pray that God will be with him and comfort him, since I won't be able to anymore. If you ever read this (doubt he will), I love you and whoever you end up with is a very lucky girl. I wish she was me, more than you know, but wishing hard for something doesn't make it true. Thank you for being the best friend and boyfriend to me.
God. You wanted me, all of me. Well, here I am. Use me.
~Alyssa (SSD)
Huh. What can I say about this lesson? Well, it's made a huge impact in my life, as I'm sure it has with every Follower of Christ. First, I had to let go of my life and say it's for Him. Then, I had to surrender the little and big things in my life. For example, I had a hard time letting go of my anger towards someone. Forgiving him was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and it required me to let go. Every time I thought I let go, I second guessed myself and pulled the weight back in. Until finally, I had enough and I was done with being angry. The only person it was affecting was myself and the people who cared so much about me and prayed for me. I finally let go, and let God.
Since then (oh, three/four years ago?), I thought I was pretty good at this lesson. I didn't have a whole lot of trouble letting go, except for friendships. I had (still do) a hard time letting go of friends. I've lost so many that it takes me a long time to let go of them. The Scouts never had to let go of each other, why the heck can't I find someone who will stick with me no matter what? It took me over 6 years to realize that my best friend wasn't my best friend anymore. How sad is that? Anywho, that leads us to today. About 6 months ago, I let go of the best thing that had happened to me since Jesus saved me, my boyfriend. I didn't want to, and I ignored God's calling to let him go for 6-8 months. It took 3 months at Hume for God to finally say, "Enough, listen to me. Obey what I am telling you, I will take care of you."
After the most painful hour and half phone call, and three days of nearly starving myself, I did it. I let him go... as my boyfriend, and only as my boyfriend. Okay, and it took me about a month to finally accept that he was no longer my boyfriend. And you know what? I surprised myself. After that short month, I was okay with him not being my boyfriend. I was okay with just being friends. But, I was not okay with letting him go all together. Heck, I'm still not. I love him, and he's the best friend I've ever had. I told him everything (everything up until 6 months ago that is). I held nothing back from him and neither did he. I loved that I didn't have to hide anything, he was the first person I could do that with. So now, here I am and God's call to let him go as a friend is stronger than ever. It's not something I can ignore. I need to let him go, for his sake and mine. I just pray that God will be with him and comfort him, since I won't be able to anymore. If you ever read this (doubt he will), I love you and whoever you end up with is a very lucky girl. I wish she was me, more than you know, but wishing hard for something doesn't make it true. Thank you for being the best friend and boyfriend to me.
God. You wanted me, all of me. Well, here I am. Use me.
~Alyssa (SSD)
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Do Not Worry
Lesson Ten: Do Not Worry
Worrying. Yeah, I tend to do that... a lot. I'll be the first to admit, worrying is one of my greatest weakness. I know that it shows a lack of trust in God to worry, but sometimes I do it without even thinking. I don't even realize that what I'm feeling is worry until I say it out loud. It's something as a follower in Christ and a Sailor Scout in training that I'm continuously working on. Heck, I think I could argue everyone has this issue and is working on it (okay, a good majority of people), but that still doesn't give us the excuse. It says clearly in the Bible (Matthew 6:25-34) not to worry.
Something I've noticed about myself is that I don't tend to worry about objects or things. I worry about people. Whenever someone is going through a hard time, I worry about them (how their doing, what God is doing with them, etc.). Like I said, a lot of times I do unconsciously and I don't usually realize it until someone points it out to me. I also worry very little about myself. Even if I'm the one more hurt from a situation, I worry more about that person's feelings. I'll be honest, I feel like it's almost an insult not to worry about someone. If I didn't, I feel like it's saying "I don't care about you and your situation."
But something God has shown me is that reminiscing and worrying isn't the solution. You can still care about that person and not worry. It's called Compassion. Instead of worrying about people, we need to show more compassion towards them. What I mean by compassion is saying, "I want you to know that I care about you and I'm thinking of you. I'm here to help in any way I can." Whereas worry says, "I hope you'll be okay and God will take care of you." Hope? God is taking care of the weary, of the hurt, and the broken. There's no need to hope for what is already being done. "To worry is to believe that God will fail." Worry shows a lack of trust in God and it's something I need to work on. I have trust issues (just like many people in the world), and my worry clearly points that out.
Even the Sailor Scouts worry, it's not something anyone is perfect at. It seems like in every episode, a Scout is saying to another Scout, "Do not worry." Most of the time it's about defeating the bad guys, but a lot of times it's about little things too, like passing a test. Now, this isn't saying that we all just need to let lose and never care. We should care about things, it's what motivates us to get stuff done and move on in our day, but it shouldn't control our lives to where nothing good comes from it.
Abba, help me overcome my worry and my lack of trust. I know you hold us all in your loving arms, so I do not need to worry. Your will is what I want, no matter what that means. I don't want to worry about my future anymore, it's too painful and it consumes my thoughts. Take it away.
~Alyssa (SSD)
Worrying. Yeah, I tend to do that... a lot. I'll be the first to admit, worrying is one of my greatest weakness. I know that it shows a lack of trust in God to worry, but sometimes I do it without even thinking. I don't even realize that what I'm feeling is worry until I say it out loud. It's something as a follower in Christ and a Sailor Scout in training that I'm continuously working on. Heck, I think I could argue everyone has this issue and is working on it (okay, a good majority of people), but that still doesn't give us the excuse. It says clearly in the Bible (Matthew 6:25-34) not to worry.
Something I've noticed about myself is that I don't tend to worry about objects or things. I worry about people. Whenever someone is going through a hard time, I worry about them (how their doing, what God is doing with them, etc.). Like I said, a lot of times I do unconsciously and I don't usually realize it until someone points it out to me. I also worry very little about myself. Even if I'm the one more hurt from a situation, I worry more about that person's feelings. I'll be honest, I feel like it's almost an insult not to worry about someone. If I didn't, I feel like it's saying "I don't care about you and your situation."
But something God has shown me is that reminiscing and worrying isn't the solution. You can still care about that person and not worry. It's called Compassion. Instead of worrying about people, we need to show more compassion towards them. What I mean by compassion is saying, "I want you to know that I care about you and I'm thinking of you. I'm here to help in any way I can." Whereas worry says, "I hope you'll be okay and God will take care of you." Hope? God is taking care of the weary, of the hurt, and the broken. There's no need to hope for what is already being done. "To worry is to believe that God will fail." Worry shows a lack of trust in God and it's something I need to work on. I have trust issues (just like many people in the world), and my worry clearly points that out.
Even the Sailor Scouts worry, it's not something anyone is perfect at. It seems like in every episode, a Scout is saying to another Scout, "Do not worry." Most of the time it's about defeating the bad guys, but a lot of times it's about little things too, like passing a test. Now, this isn't saying that we all just need to let lose and never care. We should care about things, it's what motivates us to get stuff done and move on in our day, but it shouldn't control our lives to where nothing good comes from it.
Abba, help me overcome my worry and my lack of trust. I know you hold us all in your loving arms, so I do not need to worry. Your will is what I want, no matter what that means. I don't want to worry about my future anymore, it's too painful and it consumes my thoughts. Take it away.
~Alyssa (SSD)
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