Living Where I Am

Life is hard. My parents have told me that it doesn't get much easier. But hard is good.
Life is hectic. It hasn't slowed down much. But it is always fun.
Life is full of disappointment. But there is always something to be happy about.

I'm learning to live where I am. This semester has had great days and terrible days, success and failure. And I'm ok with that. Sometimes you have to learn to let things go and move on.

I've had my share of success. I've gotten some "A" grades, played in the school worship band, lost some weight, and worked two jobs. (So far, I'm still vertical and breathing.) However, I've also messed up on a few things, gotten a few grades I didn't like, didn't score as high as I wanted on my SAT, lost control of my organization and my sanity for a few days.

But God is good. And with Him, it's gonna be ok.

It took me a long time to get this point, but I'm ok with making mistakes now. I still strive for perfection, but I've recognized that I'm not always going to be the best person out there. It's impossible. If I was the best, Jesus would not have had to die for me. I've come to accept life being hard as a reality. If life was easy, we wouldn't need Jesus.

I'm learning to live where I am. I'm happy with what I'm doing, and it doesn't matter what others think about me. God has me where He wants me. And I love it.

Following God means making hard decisions. It means choosing to serve Him above people. And that is HARD. I've always been a people-pleaser. I hate it when I can't help everyone or please everyone. I've had to say "no. I can't do that." to people this semester. If I said yes to everything, I probably would be dead by now. And I hate saying no. I can't stand it. But you have to, because that's part of being an adult.

But God is good. And with Him, everything is accomplished.

I'm learning to live where I am. I've stopped pushing others away from me. I have always had a hard time making friends. I've kinda pushed people that were my age away from me for the past few years. I felt like I didn't fit in. But I've stopped. And I've had more fun this year than I've had in years. I've gone out to eat with people, gone to small group with my girlfriends, and made new friends in college.

God is good. And I am happy because I'm living where I am. Not constantly pushing forward, but slowing down and enjoying where I am. And it has been fantastic.

Have Courage,
Hannah Newbold