Eat this!

Wow, what a week this has been! Such a time of change and development. I've grown up a little bit more in these past few ways. I'm 20 years old... kinda have been for a while, and it's time to face the fact that I really am growing up. I mean, I've always wanted a professional life. I want to be that person that others look to for answers, and I want to be a role model. A Godly role model. One that no matter what I do in my life, others will see that I am mature in Christ, mature in mind... God has blessed me this year perhaps moreso than in any other year of my life. And, His blessings continue to be poured out upon me. Why? Because He loves me.

I've never been very comfortable with hugs and kisses. (Unless they're from grandparents...) :-) And, I'm not a 'flirter' or one known to do any chasing boys. I've never quite understood guys my own age. And, I don't know of any single man at this moment that I would come close to dating. My view of men in general hasn't always been very healthy. I realized that this past year when my roommate and I were talking. I spilled how I really feel about men in general. Here are a few adjectives I usually use (remember it's a general feeling...not anybody in particular): hardworking, cowardly, and selfish. And, although I need to work with those feelings, these past few months I have been surrounded by people that don't show their selfish love. They have been showing Christ's love. There's a very real difference.

Christ's love cares. Genuinely cares about where you're headed. It invests in who you are as a being. It shows you how much God loves you. I've learned a LOT about myself, others, service, leadership, and more. But, one that sticks out to me more than anything else is how much God loves me. He loves me, no strings attached. He loves me way more than any earthly man could. He is my guide through the Bible, prayer, dreams, and other people. Because of God's love, I look at myself differently. I never thought I was worthy of such high devotion. Rephrase: I never thought anyone could be devoted to me the way I was devoted to God and that no one could ever lead me like I needed to be lead in Christ. And, why even expect something like that from a man. But then I realized that God is way more devoted to me than I could ever be to Him, and who better to lead me than Himself? And, if anything, God wants that man for me, too. COOL!

I'll leave you with a quote from a book I read this summer that helped create this view of knocking out fears. It says something like this, "God wants you to get where God wants you to go way more than you want to get where God wants you to go." And, He wants me to be happy.

So, eat that devil.