Take a minute to really look at that picture. What do you think when you see it? When I look at it, I feel happiness. I smile and it makes me think of good times. That's my best friend Hannah and I on my first night back from Philadelphia.
I am truly blessed with such an amazing friend like her. I finally found someone who understands me and someone who is not going to leave me for stupid reasons, like most people usually do. Someone who really likes me for who I am and nothing more.
I feel like when people see pictures like that, they think this: Oh, So if you're a Christian and you believe in God, everything in my life will immediately get better. No. Not at all. People have it all wrong. First off, we're merely human. We ALL make mistakes, we ALL make wrong choices, We ALL have our up and down days.
Second, Being a Christian doesn't mean you're going to be all happy and everything in your life is going to be perfect 24/7, It just means you're choosing to follow God and give all your heart to Him. This is how I imagine it: There's a regular wire gate, on the left, there's darkness. The floor is cracking, and it looks terrible, but all your friends are there waiting for you, calling you over. On the other side, there's a bright blue sky and emerald green grass and warmth, but nobody is there waiting for you. You HAVE to pick a side, you can't go back, and you can't go in-between.
Which side would you choose? Of course, most of you would say "The side with all my friends!" Wrong. Trust me, I once chose to go on that side, but you have to think, if I had gone on the other side, just looked a little beyond not being able to go to my friends, God would be there waiting for me, And he is. And why am I telling you all of this? Because right at this very moment, right as I'm typing, people are dying and going to Hell. Hell is just as real as Heaven is.
I think we all forget how real Hell is. Just think, every step you take, everywhere you go, people are dying and suffering. Don't you want to do something about it? To sum this up, Christianity is NOT a bed of roses, it's not easy at all, being different. It's just worth it.
You know those days when nothing seems to go right? And it seems no matter how much fun you had, at the end of the day it doesn't even matter anymore. I had one of those days today. By the end of the day, I wanted to cry. It was my first beach trip with my youth group, and I had so much fun, but then I only focused on the bad things that happened.
I realized once I got home, why should I focus on that? I had so many more good times today than I have in a long while, then 10 minutes later, I get a bible verse sent to my phone (I get 2 a day) and it said this:
"He will wipe away every tear from them. Every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning" John 21:4.
How awesome is that?! Right when I feel like I hate myself and I just want to give up on everything, Right when I'm feeling worthless and stupid, I read that. It reminded me none of it matters! We all have our ups and downs, but why focus on the downs in the first place? I know it's hard not to. Nothing going right. But when nothing goes right, Go Left :]
So, tonight was probably the best youth service since I've been there. Pastor Cody went up and preached on how worship should be. I mean, I almost always sing, but I never really got into the whole thing. He said that even if it meant standing when everyone is on their knees, or vice versa, God would honor you for it. It made me realize that if there's something that makes me feel uncomfortable, or something that makes me feel like people are staring at me, I'm giving it my all.
So, instead of standing to the back and clapping silently, I got up there and worshiped, not because everyone else was doing it, but because I wanted to. I sang loud enough I could hear myself over the music, I raised my hands because I wanted to, and I stood when everyone else was on their knees.
It's probably the best feeling in the world to completely praise God and not care what anyone thinks of you. And truthfully, I wasn't even excited for youth in the first place. I came thinking: "okay, this is just going to be like any other service. I'm going to sit in the back the whole time because I don't fit in." It wasn't though! Not at all!
I got up in front of everyone, And said what God did in my life at Philly, I made people laugh! I had people cheering me on! I realized, what does it matter what I look like without a gallon of makeup? What does it matter if people stare at me? It was just amazing to really know God has had my back the entire time, and I just wanted to share that with you all :]
I don't know why, but today I've been feeling a little down. I guess it's just one of those days when I don't really feel like there's anything to be excited or happy about, or when I feel like everything's going wrong when it's not.... so I looked up "bible verse of the day" on google, and one caught my eye:
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6
I don't know about you, but this verse made me feel a million times better. Even when things are going wrong, even when everything is falling apart, he's never going to leave. His love for you never changes, He always stays the same. It just made me think of how lucky I am to have a God who loves me that much.
I just wanted to share this, for people who feel like they don't have anyone who truly loves them, for anyone who has people who has left them, just remember, God never will. He'll always stick by your side and help you through it. Anyways, He didn't say it would be easy, He just said He'd be by your side no matter what.
Oh God, Even when everything is going wrong, you're still always there for me. I don't know why, but just now I felt a sudden feeling on peace wash over me, and I felt like God was telling me he's always there. I'm starting high school this Monday! THIS MONDAY! And I'm probably one of the only teens I know who isn't excited.
To tell you the truth, I'm worried about self-image. In middle school, I didn't care what everyone thought of me because I knew all these people since my little elementary days, and I had never really fit in with them, so why try now, you know? I guess I was just hoping I could fit in a little better. New school, new people.
I'm slowly starting to get excited as this last week of freedom goes by. There's going to be people who think a bit like me, people who dress like me, people who can try to understand me. And even if there isn't, I will always have my best friend, Hannah, by my side. And I love having her there, She's amazing, but I do want to reach out and see how many people can relate to me, and since there's so many people, hopefully it'll be better than middle school, which was terrible.
Anyways, to sum it all up, I just felt like God was saying: "Listen, Lorynne. No matter how many people hurt you in these next 4-5 years of your life, no matter how many people leave you, no matter how hard and stressed you get, and no matter how much you feel like giving up, Don't. Because I am going to be by your side no matter what." And it has to be the best feeling in the world.
I know I already put this quote on the bottom of my first post, but I just cant get enough of it. So here it is again:
"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1John 2:17
Just remember that verse when you feel like he isn't there, because he always is. Sometimes the hard stuff or the stuff we're scared of that just doesn't seem fair, and you're wondering why God would make you go through it. It's going to pass. It's just God getting rid of the junk in your life to put in something better and exciting. He Loves Us So Much. Remember That.
My Sunday Pastor is amazing. He always knows how to really make me think. The question he asked us today was: Do You Want To Be Free? Of course we all want to be free! People just aren't willing to sacrifice what it takes to really be free these days. It's ironic when you think about it. Jesus gave up so much for us, shouldn't we be able to give him what little he asks of us?
There's an amazing quote I've been hearing lately too: God Loves You Just The Way You Are, But He Loves You Way Too Much To Let You Stay That Way. It's perfectly true. Just think, you could have your fun now, and spend an eternity burning in Hell, or you can live for Jesus. Sure, You might get made fun of, but wouldn't you rather get made fun of now and have a lifetime of endless joy later on?
I don't people realize that Hell is just as real as Heaven is. People would rather go to the place with gnashing of teeth and endless suffering than go through a few cruel words and actions now. It really makes you think: This is where I'm going for ETERNITY. I can't even wrap my mind around that concept. This is never going to end. It's going to go on forever. FOREVER. Would you rather spend Eternity in pain and suffering, or in endless joy and peace. The choice is ours.
Just remember: God has open arms for you. No matter what the circumstance. He always loves you and no matter what horrible thing you've done, he'll always forgive you. He wants you to be in Heaven someday, But it's up to you.
Pain? Or Joy? You can't live in-between.
For those of you who truly know me, I am one of the most insecure people you'll meet. I HATE the way I look and get angry with myself every time someone says I'm pretty, because they're WRONG.
I usually never tell anyone how insecure I really am because I almost always get this response: "she just wants attention". NO. You know, there are millions of girls in the world cutting themselves, starving themselves, puking their guts out and killing themselves. Do you honestly think all these girls do that to themselves for ATTENTION?!
If people only knew how hard it is to be a teen girl with individuality in these times, maybe we'd actually be helping these girls more than putting them down and making whatever they're going through worse. And Yes, I would know, because I was one of those girls not too long ago. And I know that attention-craving wasn't on my mind when I was sticking my finger down my throat every night.
I did it because I hated myself to the point where I physically wanted to hurt myself. I did it because I felt worthless, I felt like I was NOTHING to ANYONE. I felt alone, and people just looked at me and rolled there eyes because I wanted ATTENTION.
This was just a rant of my feelings, and hopefully it made you think too.
