It’s about to be a new year again! How exciting. Just like many of you, I am ready for a new year. A new year makes us feel like we can have a new start and a new life. Kind of like when we hand our life and our hearts over to Jesus. We get that new life…..that new start! His mercy refreshes our souls and our spirits and we are a new person.
I remember when I gave my heart over to Christ for the first time. I was in the 8th grade and it was the month of September. I was starting to FINALLY feel settled at Cooper and I felt like I was finally starting to make some friends but there was still that one little thing missing. It wasn’t by a specific friend or really a specific family member that pushed me to make that choice. It was just that feeling that there was a higher being and a purpose for my life besides just living it. I went to a Catholic Church with my family and obviously Church did plant the seed of Christ. I know I also had an amazing grandmother who would teach me the rosary in Spanish almost nightly and prayed for me nightly. Until this day, that is the only Spanish I really know. I also had some amazing Aunts who prayed for my sister and me and whom were great influences in our lives. I remember my Aunt Barbara taking care of us many of nights. She probably doesn’t even think I remember but I remember waking up early in the morning for school and for some reason when I think about those times, I think about her ironing our clothes and preparing us for our day.
Throughout high school, I pretty much continued my Christian walk. I never went out and drank with my classmates. I was pretty much a good kid. I was involved in extracurricular activities (the good ones…ha) and I pretty much lived a pure life. No, I was not perfect by any means. I stumbled a lot and made LOTS of mistakes growing up but for the most part I fed myself with scripture and read my Bible daily and listened to Christian music. I still remember the very first Christian single that grabbed me, “Thank You” by Ray Boltz. I remember my Uncle Don and my Aunt Luisa at our house one night and I asked them and my Mom to listen to it with me. We all stood in my mother’s kitchen and listened. Still not sure why I wanted that but I wanted it and being the loving Aunt and Uncle and Mom, they did it for me. Maybe it was my way of thanking them for roles they were playing in my life.
After my senior year in high school I started at Texas Tech. That is when I begin to wonder what it was like on the other side of that wall. I still wasn’t drinking and still wasn’t too far into the partying but I had started to go out to clubs and bars. I was engaged when I was 21 and went through a huge heartbreak with my ex. For some reason after that break up was when I let loose. I then started drinking. I drank a lot the summer I turned 21. Since then it has been an ongoing battle to not drink or bar hop or club hop. I loved to dance and boy would I go dancing. I thought I was living it up!
Several of you know the battles I have faced over the last two years and some of you do not. Perhaps those moments are meant for another blog as there is a huge gap between being 21 and 31. Right now, I just want to focus on that reconnection I have since then established with my God. I want to remind all of you that no matter what life brings us, He is always there. No matter what battles we are fighting or what heartaches we are enduring, He is there! I backslid for many years since I was that young girl in the 8th grade accepting Christ into my heart and into my life but I always still felt Him there, even when I knew I was a disappointment. He never ever left my side. He was still there when I wanted that pure and simple life back. I still fall short now and again but I know He will be there no matter what.
We are embarking on a New Year and I hope that within the New Year that many of you decide to give your life to Him or recommit yourself to Him. It is never too late and nothing we could ever do would change His view on us.
His view of me is so much more amazing than I could ever even imagine. I am the apple of His eye just like you are. It is not just a new year coming but a chance for a new YOU. A chance for that new or renewed relationship with your Savior that you are longing for. This is a perfect time to establish your relationship with Him and in Him. Don’t let another year pass by without really finding that purpose you were created for. Only He can guide those steps for us. I know when I tried to guide my own steps, I went in circles and got myself LOST. Anytime I begin to guide myself, I find myself going in a circle.
He’s the Author of our story and the leader of our steps; let Him start writing your 2010 Chapter. Trust me, you won’t regret it!
God Bless and Happy New Year! I hope 2010 will be the best thus far for you!
Crystal
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