but sometimes we go through phases that are just... harder.
this last semester has been a struggle but also a big lesson.
i have dealt with a lot of loss but God is faithful to His words:
"you are not alone" and "i will never leave you nor forsake you"
anyways, through the pain and heartache, God has been true.
i've been blessed to grow closer with my family, esp my sister, through it all...
along with growing in old friendships and creating new ones.
my sister sent me this email about an interview with Rick Warren, who wrote Purpose Driven Life. below are the wise words that gave me comfort and inspiration (it's a little long, but stick with it):
People ask me, What is the purpose of life?
And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act, the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God FOR God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
......
I used to think life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountain, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
.......
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
...that is all :)
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