I found this scripture really meaningful...

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

-2 Corinthians 4:14

I've found today that I was having a hard time in certain situations that have been there lately in my life. Then, I read this and I realized that these things are good for me. I may not be positive where I'll end up. And I may not know what will happen. But, I'm being shaped by what's happening, God has a plan, and that's all I really need to know. Those things which I can't see, both in the future and those which I'm just having a hard time seeing right now, are what will last. I can't base all my emotions on what I'm seeing and feeling at one moment. I know that things will be okay and I'll be able to get through every trial and decision in life as long as I'm following the right path and have faith that the Lord knows where it's going. 

And I know this same thing applies to everybody who's reading this. Hope it helps you, too.

When You Put Your Whole Self Into It

So, I’ve realized lately that I set myself up all the time to be disappointed. I’ve reflected on it, and realized that applies to so many aspects of my life. When I do anything, I put all of my emotion and heart into it. I did that with my music ambitions and was pretty disappointed to spend years of training with the trumpet only to realize it wasn’t enough to be where I wanted to be in college. I tried to put what I could into learning piano… and then I had a disastrous recital that shook a lot of confidence out of me. There was the time when I had the trumpet solos in front of a small stadium several times back when I was determined enough to do marching back in high school… and I bombed it the first time, which crushed me for a while just because of the sheer amount of emotion and determination I had put forth to learning it. When I had a job and was fired, I wanted to go home and sit there for a long time without doing anything.  I didn’t try as hard as I should have, but it hurt me so badly since I was so happy to have a job and it made me have so much confidence just having one. It’s also the same with dating. I give out everything I have every time and put so much emotion into making a girl feel special, which makes it so I’m most likely going to get hurt.

That’s just a few examples. But, you know what? This is what has made my life so great. I think having that enthusiasm for everything you do is important if you’re ever going to get anywhere. A lot of the time, that enthusiasm will leave you disappointed and can even seem self-destructive when it crushes you under the weight of hope. Then again, a person who doesn’t  have this emotion for life will never experience some of the lowest lows and and highest highs that have shaped me life and made it so much worth living.

 

To Learn and To Grow

Life is interesting. You never know what’s going to happen. One moment, you’re completely sick of being exhausted all the time from everything that you have to do. Then, you kind of want to be exhausted so you can spend more time talking all night with somebody you meet out of the blue. I’ve learned my life will always have difficulties. I don’t mind that. It’s not something I can prevent or should try to stop. Who I make myself out to be and what kind of a person I am is what I can control and what I will try to control. I can influence who I help, what I learn, if I decide to write a new song or get in shape, or if I make new friends. It’s good to have somebody along for the ride, but it may not work that way when you want it to. I’m just glad I’m blessed with the wonderful life I’ve been given to make the most out of my opportunities and grow from them. Life really is as good as you make it.