I’m becoming who I was made to be.
The title says it all.
I’m not there yet. And it’s a beautiful truth to understand. God is working in me as much as I will allow him to, to bring out my truest self. God doesn’t want mindless, robot followers. He created each of us with unique traits and talents, and he wants us to use them to bring him glory and bring others to him.
I read this quote by Martin Luther in a book that I have called The Glorious Pursuit:
This life therefore, is not rightesousness, but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished but it is going on. This is not the end but it is the road; all does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified.
It’s comforting to know that if we’re not ok, and not where we need to be, that there’s still hope for us. My pastor has this saying, he says, “It’s ok if you’re not ok, but it’s not ok to staythat way.” (lots of Ok’s!)
Jesus used all kinds of people to accomplish God’s work. He didn’t seek out attractive, intelligent people, but used people that didn’t have charm and quick wit. God equips us with all that we need to transform into the person he created us to be. It’s not something that will happen overnight, and probably won’t be easy. We may face hard times and struggles, but God can get us through anything and use each success or failure to teach us something if we are willing to stop for a moment and acknowledge him.
I personally know how easy it is to get distracted and forget to give God any of my time in a day. I can find one hundred different things to do instead of finding a quiet place and having fellowship with my Creator, Father, Lover and Best Friend. But likewise, I personally know how special and beneficial it is to take the time to read my Bible and speak to God about what is on my heart. I do not know how I can expect to be like Christ and please him if do not meet with him and let him teach me about how amazing God is. The more I seek God, the more amazed I am at who he is.
My prayer for you is that you will give God a moment of your time and allow him to show you how much he loves you and wants the best for you.
I’ll leave you with these Chris Tomlin lyrics that always play in my head when I think about how I need to spend more time with God:
“And everything You hold in Your hand
Still You make time for me
I can’t understand.”
If He who holds the world in his hands can make time for me, then I can definitely find time for him.
truth.
Change.
[I wrote this a while ago and found it sitting in the ‘drafts’ section of my blogspot. It was an encouragement to re-read it now as I’m trying to start a new chapter of my life back in the states.]
It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
-Alan Cohen
I came across this quote one day whilst searching on google for encouraging quotes. I really liked this one when I read it 2 years ago before I moved across the ocean to live in the great peninsula of Spain. Back before I knew what no pasa nada meant and that when ordering something in a bar or coffee shop you’ll get funny looks if you try to say “Can I please have a muffin?” Instead, you just say “Give me that muffin.. {please}. But the ‘please’ isn’t required.
There’s a lot of things you learn about a place after you go through the daily interactions of life with the people who live there. I like the line in the quote by Cohen that says, “in movement there is life… .” Things don’t happen without a movement; a force that acts on a situation and causes an effect. If you don’t like the place you’re at in life, you have to actually do something for things to change. There’s something to be said for being still and simply being in the present, but change requires some sort of kick in the rear end, a sweet taste that leaves you wanting more.
I don’t like dwelling on changes. My life changed a lot when I moved to Spain two years ago, and now I’m facing changes again as I prepare to move back to the states. The hardest part about this change is having to say goodbye to the wonderful community I’ve had here. I know that God will place equally awesome friends in my life, and I will carry these ones with me into the future, but it sucks to think that things won’t be the same.
I won’t be able to just hop on the metro and meet my friends in the center of Sol. I won’t be able to look forward to every Tuesday night with my small group.
I won’t have to encounter the brightly lit men that come into every bar and shop trying to sell you over-sized glasses, a million different light-up gadgets and red roses.
I won’t have to deal with awkward bus drivers and locutorio (internet cafe) workers that will find any excuse, such as learning English, to try to get a date.
The hardest part about change is facing up to who you are and what’s going on inside you. Change makes us realize how not in control we are. We can be sailing smooth and then hit a wave or encounter a storm that makes us see that we need God. We know we need to let go and trust God, but that’s easier said than done. But it’s so much more rewarding. Sometimes we need to step out on a limb and listen to what God is telling us to do, even if it’s the last thing we really desire to do at the moment. God can change our desires, simply put. Some days I don’t even know what I really desire. I tell God one thing and I really want to mean it, but my heart seeks other things to satisfy. I run to people to meet the longing I have to feel loved and admired. It’s good to have friends that love and care for you, but ultimately it should be God that satisfies every thirst and every need.
8tracks →
i use this website to set the background music to whatever i’m doing
Recap.
For the last two years I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to live in Madrid, Spain. It’s a lively, colorful city that rarely ever sleeps. It’s a place full of history and passionate people. Home of the siesta and amazing cafe con leche. It’s a place struggling to figure out the role of the government after living for so many years under a dictatorship. Its streets are bustling with hustlers, prostitues, street entertainers, mothers, sisters, fathers, foreigners, sinners and saints. The weather goes from one extreme to the other with freezing temperatures in winter to over 100F in summer. Another wonderful thing about this city is how close it is to some awesome mountain ranges where you can escape the busy and concreteness for some fresh air.
One of my favorite things about city-life was the numerous cafes, where you could ask for just about any beverage you were in the mood for. A favorite summer drink of mine is tinto de verano- it’s a mixture of red wine (vino tinto) and usually, lemon Fanta, but sometimes they use soda water. (The fanta kind is totally better; hands down.) It’s a delightfully-sweet-but-not-too-sweet drink to cool off with. One of my favorite cafes is Cafe de la Luz, which is literally translated to “cafe of the light.” In most bars and cafes in Spain you will get a free snack with your drink. It could be a plate of olives, peanuts, chips, or, if you’re really lucky tortilla espanola. In cafe de la luz they mixed it up and gave you a bowl of chips, OR- my favorite, POPCORN! Aaaaand, to add to their coolness factor, they would even make my friend Ricky and I cherry cokes! Spain doesn’t really do the whole cherry coke thing, and one day we noticed they had grenadine for making mixed drinks. Ricky was brave enough to ask the waitress to make them for us, even though I’m sure the bartenders were all nodding their heads and muttering “guiris” under their breaths. (guiri is the term for white, non-spanish people.)
There are so many wonderful things about la vida madrileña; and some other things that were annoying at first, but I learned to accept after a little while. I’d love to share more, but sleepiness is taking over. Instead, I’ll leave you with this quote from the movie Yes Man:
“The world’s a playground. You know that when you’re a kid, but somewhere along the way everyone forgets it.”
Choose not to forget! :)
some thoughts.
It’s kind of funny the order of events and circumstances that can cause our paths to run alongside another persons. I always wonder if these meetings are pre-destined, or if they are simply random happenings. I tend to see every meeting as having a reason behind it; it could be a chance to be there for a perfect stranger at a time when they really need someone, or to learn something about myself from them. It’s just interesting to think about it when I meet someone I wouldn’t have otherwise if I hadn’t missed my bus and had to get the next.
I like to get to know people as best I can, no matter the amount of time we are limited. I like to hear about their life stories and what they are doing and what they are thinking. Some people I know would rather not invest themselves into someone they are going to have to say goodbye to in the near future, but I’m quite the opposite. I think you can learn so much from the different people you meet, if you just open yourself to listening to their stories and sharing a little of your life with them. It’s really a beautiful thing.
Let her free. [written by me]
And the clouds in the sky
Set the scene perfectly.
Her sorrows, she had no choice
She had to let them free.
And I, I couldn’t bare
that it was because of me.
I said my prayers,
And let her go
A cold day in February.
She was so good to me.
It’s been said before,
“these things aren’t easy.”
The changing tides were pulling you out to sea
Away from me.
The rubber on the soles of my shoes
Worn down and abused
Is a picture of my life without you
I said my prayers
I let her go
A cold day in February
She was so good to me
Yet my joy remains,
The routine keeps me sane
I hope for the day when
You’ll be in my arms again
So Take me with you always,
I want to feel through you
To know the taste of your lips
All of my days
Like the Earth’s magnetic force,
My heart is pulling you towards me.
The wind through the trees makes a melody
I hum a tune and smile
I said my prayers
I let her go
A cold day in February
She was so good to me
