Lately, I have been wearing my glasses to church. Although that may not sound like a big deal, it is a personally huge step for me. Ever since I got glasses as a fifth grader, I have been too embarrassed to wear them around the people at my church. (That was mostly because I did not know many people at the time.) Here was my reasoning: Since I am nearsighted, I only need glasses to see things that are far away. I use my glasses at school to read what my teachers write on the board, but I do not need to read off a board (in a classroom) at church. The statements above are true, but times have changed and my eyesight has become worse over the years. Although I did not need to wear my glasses to church back then, it would be helpful to wear them now. This struggle has been an internal battle between me and my comfort zone. Recently, though, I have gained enough courage to stop trying to please people and to go beyond the borders of my comfort zone. It all started back in April. Around Easter time, I was going to a church service during the week. I brought my glasses with me and I decided to put them on out of curiosity, since not many people had arrived yet. It was fascinating! With my glasses on, I could actually see the beautiful details of my church and everything was crystal clear. After seeing a glimpse of a whole new world, I decided to put my glasses away. Later, I pulled them out once again and I was brave enough to wear them during most of the service! Although I felt uncomfortable at first, I continually pushed and encouraged myself to keep them on. In a way, I decided to stop letting my insecure thoughts stop me from living my life to the fullest. I chose to wear my glasses that day because I realized that I was missing out. By not seeing clearly, I could not enjoy the church services as much as unless I had my glasses. In the same way, insecurity can stop us from doing certain things that we enjoy. As I look back at the situation now, I am glad that I tried my glasses on back in April, because I currently wear my glasses to church! (I don't usually wear them all the time, but that's better than not wearing them at all.) That one little step that I took a while back has encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone more often and continually fight against overcoming my insecurity. Although I have not completely overcome my insecurity, I have greatly improved compared to last year. After all, overcoming an insecurity is a journey, and a journey is a process that takes time. Now I understand it is difficult to overcome insecurity. (I just hope to encourage others by sharing my story.) I mean, it took me five years to finally wear my glasses to church! So start out by taking little steps if you can. Over time, each little improvement can add up to make a big difference! In addition, don't be afraid to ask God for guidance and strength. His arms are wide open and He is eager to help you! Lastly, don't forget this truth: you are loved by God and you are precious in His sight, just the way you are. Psalm 139:14 says, "I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Galatians 1:10 says, "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." In Matthew 19:26, "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" (Note: Yes I do realize that I could wear contacts, but I am not a huge fan of them. It’s just a personal preference. 😉)
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A lot of times, I feel like I keep telling myself to push through and just get through the next day, week, or month. Honestly, I don't want to live with the mindset that life is terrible and I just need to get past the tough times as quickly as possible. But sometimes, I feel like that's the only thing I can do. As much as I enjoy seeing my friends at school and making fun memories, my life mindset has been greatly effected because of it. On Mondays, I think, "This is the toughest day of the week. Once I get through today, the rest of the week will be easier." (And ironically, that isn't always true.) On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I pretty much think the same thing. "The faster I get through these days, the closer I will be to Friday." Thursdays are OK because they are the day before Friday, and Fridays of course are the best! This is how my week goes, and I personally don't want to be living in such a negative cycle of pushing through life. Life is valuable, and by thinking thoughts like the ones I mentioned above, I have been wasting the precious days of my life by focusing on the negative things. Once a day has passed, it is gone forever, and I don't just want to sit there and try to get through it. I'm sure some of you have experienced similar feelings before, even about other things (like a job). This year, one of my new year's resolutions is to look at life in a more positive way. I know I should be thankful for getting a great education and having the ability to go to school, but each day it becomes more difficult for me to remember that (especially when my alarm goes off at 6 a.m.). 😅 I know I am not perfect, which is why I definitely need God's help with accomplishing this. I believe that I can do all things through Him. Each day is a blessing, and we all should be appreciative for God's daily gift to us. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Besides being more positive, I have also chosen the word "faithfulness" as my one little word for 2017. Lately, I haven't been praying or reading God's Word as often as I should, which is why I want to be more faithful in these things. I also want to be more faithful to God, because He is very faithful to me.
What are some of your goals and resolutions for 2017? Comment them down below! |
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