Lesson 12: God is the only place we find true freedom

For most of my life I've known the importance of having God involved in my everyday existence. It's not been until recently that I've started to take note of the difference between the days that I invite Him to be a part of my day and the days that I ignore or refuse His presence in my day. Someone asked me this past week why I would refuse to let Him in my day if those days result in so much joy and peace. When she put it that way, it made me think a little harder about why I don't always let Him in. Do I enjoy being miserable? That seems a little odd...

Part of recovering from depression is relearning what a normal day is supposed to look and feel like - it's strange to someone like me to have all joy and roses everyday! But that doesn't mean it's wrong to have all good days!! That's just one more part of God's blessing of abundant life on His people! On the days where I ask God to join me, be my strength and my stronghold through whatever the day brings, and use me in whatever ways He desires, those days are the ones that stick out in my memory as being the most meaningful and profitable. The ones where I focus on myself and my pain, or look only to my own strength are the ones that hold their place in my bad memories, the times that are dragged up and thrown in my face when the Devil is trying to get me down.

This concept goes for anyone - not just those who are dealing with depression or other attacks - literally for everyday living. I am making it my goal to be able to say that I can recognize where God has been involved in every part of my day and consciously invite Him to walk through it with me, whatever it may have in store. My first thought when I get out of bed should be thanking God that I am able to do so, and my last one before going to sleep should be thanking Him for the ways He used my life that day, and all of them in between should be asking for His help and thanking Him for His strength at all times. He does say to "pray continually" and that's exactly what we should be doing!

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.

I'm Back - Please Read to the End

I had a reader ask me yesterday in a fairly intense conversation why I quit blogging. She told me she missed reading my uplifting and inspiring posts and seeing the love of God shining through the text of my page. I had to take a step back and really think about that. I see the views-counter all the time of how many people have been on my page, but the lack of comments and not knowing if people were even actually reading what I was saying made it hard for me to continue. What if I was spending all this time on these posts and no one even cared about what I was writing?

I'd have to say I fell into a rut, in more ways than one: dealing with some personal stuff, handling the stress of college life, and actually losing a good amount of inspiration to even continue writing. Even the pressures of performance, something I've struggled with since I was very young, trying to live up to what I perceive others expect from me and thinking that if I don't get a tangible response I'm not performing well. But I realized today how much I miss my writing, how calming, almost therapeutic, it is for me, and that I'm actually pretty good at it whether people compliment me on it or not. I realized that I can write just for ME and not make it about what other people want to hear. There are things God wants to show me through my time in His Word and journaling and writing with and to Him that are important for ME to have, not just to share with all of you.

So to sum all this up, basically, I'm back. And it may not be as regular as before, but I can promise it will not be months in between each of my posts. And things may get a bit more personal, and I hope that you all are ok with that because it is what matters to me. Being a human means that we experience pain, weakness, joys, successes, and so many other things. I am just as human as all of you and I have prepared myself to become more vulnerable with the people who can experience God through my experiences.

I pray you all experience Him today in a tangible and meaninful way that is unforgettable to you. I'd love to hear about it! Leave comments below with prayer requests or what has been going on in your day so we can all share in each other's joys and sorrows, rejoicing with God when He rejoices, and thanking Him when He gives us moments of teaching and correciton.