Sometimes, things do not go my way.<\/p>\n
I know we all have weeks like this, and I am perfectly okay with that. It\u2019s just funny how every single time this happens, I tend to relearn such simple lessons all over again.<\/p>\n
To say that this last Monday was just not my day is an understatement. Coming off of a busy weekend, I lost my bearings and was caught up in the landslide of life (again). It seemed to take a lack of caffeine, a forgotten assignment, a stubbed toe, a late arrival to ISP training and an insanely disappointing How I Met Your Mother finale to bring me to the point where I stopped, took a breath and decided to examine all that I was feeling.<\/p>\n
First, I felt weariness. I had been burning my candle from both ends, attempting to give everything my all. Next, I felt anxiety, remembering that B that should have been an A on my last exam and worrying about my GPA (yes, I am one of those <\/i>people). After this, I felt a bit lost. I remembered that I had been relying too much on adrenaline and will power to accomplish everything. Then, my Creator stepped in, sat next to me on the cold bench, put his hand on mine and told me what I needed to know.<\/p>\n
\u201cFriend, I know your life better than even you. I have what you need, so why haven\u2019t you taken the time to hear<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
When I finally took a moment to myself to sit quietly and let my mind focus on God alone, I realized how much I had been neglecting to meditate on His word and His kingdom. While my commitments are good, they are only so when done with advancing God\u2019s purposes in mind. I honor Him through my grades, my relationships, and my work, and I\u2019m enabled to do these things through Him so that I can bring Him glory. Life is long, but my Lord\u2019s commands are simple: Love God. Serve Him. Love people.<\/p>\n
There is value in the quiet and calmness. We need to stop talking long enough to listen and let the One show us what we need to know.<\/p>\n
Time goes by so fast \u2013 it sweeps along whether we\u2019re ready or not and brings inevitable change. Most days, I forget that I did not just enter into my freshman year of college last week; nearly three years have passed, bringing with them experiences I could have only hoped and prayed for. There has been so much good, so much personal and communal development, and these are things I pray I will never forget. We cannot lose sight of each calm, beautiful moment as they grace us. The quiet times with the Creator, graced by his presence, and shown something new turn out to be the most influential moments of our lives. I think that is a reason that Instagram photos are so loved \u2013 the best ones capture snapshots of simple moments, allowing a person to create a compilation of everyday life.<\/p>\n
Even though time passes faster than I can imagine, I\u2019m learning to constantly return to gratitude and simplicity. Quiet solitary walks and unexpected conversations with dear friends turn out to be some of the moments where God\u2019s love shines the brightest. I\u2019m so glad for the chance to experience this again this week. I needed the quiet wakeup call despite my hectic schedule, and I pray that this reminder lasts longer than my memories of forgotten assignments or lack of sleep. Either way, to God be the honor, now and always.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sometimes, things do not go my way. I know we all have weeks like this, and I am perfectly okay with that. It\u2019s just funny how every single time this happens, I tend to relearn such simple lessons all over again. To say that this last Monday was just not my day is an understatement. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aubrey-macmillan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/lancerdiaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/lancerdiaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/lancerdiaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/lancerdiaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/lancerdiaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/lancerdiaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/lancerdiaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/lancerdiaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/lancerdiaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}