Over the past few days, I have been pondering on this idea of time. With college, everyone says this is the time of your life, or make sure you manage your time wisely, or the time will fly by, and so much more. Throughout this big change in my life, I have kept praying and reminding myself you are exactly where you are suppose to be. You and I were created for such a time as this. We were made to make a difference with the time we have on this earth.
So I began thinking about the passage in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. It is titled A Time for Everything. It talks about there are different seasons of life, and how God created each time to be something special and unique. In Ecclesiastes 3: 11, it says 'He has made everything beautiful in its time.' It later goes onto say that no one can even begin to fathom what God has done for us from beginning to end. Like He plans everything. He knows your next step, and regardless of how you act He loves you anyways. What an amazing, loving, good good Father we have!! There are different seasons in our life that we have to love and embrace. Each season will bring new people to influence and love and celebrate the amazing things Jesus has done for us. With how fast pace life is and how quick time moves (LIKE I AM IN COLLEGE ALREADY?? WHAT???), never forget to make the most of the time right in front of you! Enjoy the little moments of laughing till tears with your roommates or the hibachi man calling you 'Baby Spice' and so many more memories we already have already. As you enjoy the moments right in front of you, don't forget what your purpose here is: to love others like Jesus did. Love them like crazy! People from your last season (and don't just drop them but continue to love on them), people who are right in front of you, people who creep you out, people who are easy to love, and just everyone! I am thankful for such an incredible Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He uses us to do extraordinary things even though we are just ordinary people. Thank you God for making everything perfect in your timing!
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Okay, so college is here, and not gonna lie-- its a little overwhelming and a lot to take in all at one time. Everyone wants to get involved so fast and meet so many new people. But the process is normal, and everyone has to get used to it. We moved in yesterday, and our room looks amazing thanks to Kaylee (my awesome roommate) and her mom. It took most of the day, but it was definitely worth it! The first night was amazing, and we met a ton of new people! I am not extraverted, so this took a lot out of me. I try to push myself to be extraverted, but one of my sweet friends reminded me that I don't have to change who I am because Jesus already loves me for who I am. Ironic thing (but really a God thing) is that NPCC IO just put out a new song called "BY MY SIDE" and I am in love with the song. My favorite part of the song is:
It's time for letting go Im not in control Jesus you are Jesus you are and wow. Just right there. Let that soak in because I had to let that soak in many times today. Everything kind of hit me today of that this a new chapter of my life. Now I am not leaving the people from my last chapter-- this is just a new chapter with new experiences and challenges. Listening to BY MY SIDE today just reminds me that Jesus is always by my side no matter where I am, no matter what challenges I am walking through, and definitely supporting me throughout the way. I am not in control of the situations before me, and I cannot change the phase of life I am in-- so instead I will decide to put my trust in Jesus and let Him take control. Because when the control is in my hands, I make a complete mess of things, but giving it to Jesus allows Him to make everything perfect in His time. But let's be real for a minute. You know when you know something and say it but don't actually fully believe it? Well yeah, you can find me in that boat today. It isn't that I am not trusting Jesus with everything, because I am-- but it is the letting go of control part. I am not good at change... AT ALL. I like everything and everyone to stay the same. But throughout high school, I've had to learn based on experiences that YOUR FAITH DOES NOT GROW IN YOUR COMFORT ZONE. So I want to set out of my comfort zone and meet new people and just love others well. So Jesus... will you lead me and use me to bring people to you? Use me wherever you need me, and Lord please push me out of my comfort zone to grow deeper in my faith, Thank you for what I have and what you have provided. You are Lord of all, and I know that you are in control. Well two weeks until I officially move to North Georgia, and I could not be more excited or more scared. Here is a small insight to my thought process of what I am most excited and nervous about.
Excited: I have an incredible roommate that loves Jesus, and I can not wait to see how God uses us this year! Nervous: I am leaving everything I have known behind and starting new for the first time in my life. Northpoint Community Church, my home, my friends, etc. Excited: To meet new friends that become family and just to experience independence. Nervous: Making sure I don't forget anything while packing even though I am only 45 minutes away from home Excited: Getting started on learning more about nursing and Spanish! Nervous: COLLEGE CLASSES! and keeping up my GPA for nursing school. Everything in my life is about to change in two weeks. I can not wait for all the amazing events, situations, and people I am going to encounter. I am thrilled that God led me to such an amazing school and people. North Georgia here I come! In this situation in particular (and you may relate to any situation in your life), I feel like I am walking into the unknown, and that scares a lot of us--especially me. With my personality, I feel as if I have to be in control of every situation, but in reality, I need to learn how to completely put my trust into the maker of every situation. Into the unknown reminds me of the story of Jesus walking on water. Like how cool would that be if you one got to meet Jesus while He was on earth, and two see Him walking towards you on the water in the middle of a storm. The storm for me is college right now--flooding my thoughts of the world around me. In the story, Jesus walks up to the disciples on the water and tells Peter to come out there with Him. Well Peter had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he listened to Jesus. Peter walked on water out to Jesus. Um I want to walk on water! That is the most amazing and scariest moment of his life. Like seeing the animals under you and knowing that you could sink and die at any moment! For the first half of Peter walking on water with Jesus, Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, but when Peter started thinking about the world around him and took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink. Of course Jesus pulled him out from the water, and then He asked Peter why he had such little faith. In church the past Sunday, Andy Stanley talked about his wishes for us, the church. His first wish for us stood out to me the most: a courageous act of obedience that costs you something. He continued to say, "if you don't say yes to those internal nudges from God and ignore them for too long, then your faith may become stale." I pray that God gives me those internal nudges and that I will say YES to whatever He may ask-- even if He asks me to walk on water, completely into the unknown. And that is my wish for you too. Say yes to what Jesus is asking of you because you never know who you will impact. 'Lord, I pray that you will use me. Use me at North Georgia this year, and lead me to those around me in love and patience. I know that you have plans for my life, and I choose to trust you through the unknown because Lord, you are God of all. Thank you for loving me so well and sending your son to die for me. Thank you for choosing me. Bring me into the unknown.' |
Lindsey LawtonJust a college freshman trying to figure life out Archives
January 2019
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