by Live Original | Jul 24, 2019 | Featured, Life Advice, Testimonies |
Note from Team LO: We are SO excited to bring you this month’s post from our LO Fam member, Megan! If you want to know more, check out our online community of sisters here!
Guys, God is good. I can’t say that enough. The last few years of my life have been a whirlwind of ups and downs and yet one thing has remained the same–Him. He has been faithful beyond words and has blown me away with the wonderful ways in which He works. To start this little blog post off I’ll introduce myself. I’m Megan, a twenty-something girl, who loves vegging on the couch watching a favorite show almost as much as getting out in the world and doing some good. A great book can keep me transfixed for hours and a good friend can keep me talking for more. There are days you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between me and a well behaved college student on summer break. At my all-time worst, there would barely be any of me left to see. The thing is I have OCD. The kind of OCD that destroys lives. The kind of OCD that nearly destroyed mine.
Not long before my twentieth birthday I hit rock bottom. I couldn’t function. I spent each day either standing in a room, silently waiting for the time to pass or laying at the end of the bed staring at the ceiling or in a flood of tears totally in crisis mode. Every waking moment I was trying to control my thoughts. Even when that meant not eating, barely sleeping, and certainly not living. This whole downward spiral started around the beginning of 2016. Nearly the same time the following year, I was admitted to a residential treatment facility. Several people told me that I had the most severe case of OCD they had ever seen. One even said I might never have a functioning life again. It was tough. Every step, each day, was a major hurdle. I tell you these things only to show the greatness of our God because if anyone was going to recover, it didn’t look like it was going to be me.
My life was difficult for many reasons, but one heartbreaking reason was OCD affected my ability to be engaged in my faith. I couldn’t pray without ending up in ridiculous rituals and buckets of anxiety. I couldn’t read scripture, and I couldn’t go to church. One form of OCD that I struggle with is called “scrupulosity” which The Peace of Mind Foundation defines as, “the religious form of OCD in which individuals are plagued with obsessions surrounding religion/spirituality and morals. This may include obsessions about sin, offending God, religious or moral failings, and punishment. They are burdened with worry about whether something is ‘the right thing to do’ even in trivial matters, and often perform compulsions including repetitive prayer, confessions, and avoidance.”
As you might be able to tell by all the things I “couldn’t” do, my main behavior in this area was avoidance. I thought if I didn’t engage I couldn’t do anything wrong. Distance from my faith was not what I wanted, but I thought it was necessary to keep the panic and unrelenting anxiety away. I was incorrect on that one. The more I avoided everything, the greater my fears became and the farther I had to run. Although it didn’t really matter that I was running because God was always right there with me, step for step. It can be challenging, when we are in the middle of something, to not wonder where God is in all of it, but let me tell you this, God sends help in the form of amazing people. He works through each one of us. If you’re willing to accept the help, He will meet you where you are. For me, His amazing grace came in the form of wonderful mental health professionals.
My first therapist at residential treatment was Lisa and she was a total gift from God. She is kind, compassionate, and insightful. She was all the things a great therapist is. At my first family session, Lisa quoted the Bible. This was surprising as I wasn’t in a Christian treatment center. I appreciated it more than she knew. I wish I remembered the verse, but regardless, it put my heart at ease. I knew I was in good hands.
During the next ten months, she reminded me of God’s grace and helped me move in a direction where I would again have a close relationship with Him. She sat with me while I poured out my worst fears and agreed with me when I told her there was no way this was all God had planned for me. She knew how much I’d love to attend church and so we even went on a little road trip to find me a good one. About a week later I went to church for the first time in a long time.
My favorite verse is one you probably know, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength” Philippians 4:13. This was the truth I spoke over myself for months–months in which I made more progress than I could have hoped for. With the help of Jesus I was getting my life back! It wasn’t easy and there was a whole long painful process, but in the end, He was faithful as always.
A few weeks before leaving I was thinking about what’s next. After tossing some ideas around, I decided to ask Lisa why she became a therapist. Lisa looked at me. She said she promised herself that if I asked she wouldn’t lie to me and told me that she herself had recovered from OCD. I truly believe God used that situation to speak some things into my heart. One was that we are never alone. Not only is He there, but He is often working to put people in our path to remind us of that truth. For a long time I struggled with the idea that maybe OCD is just an endless cycle of suffering, but through Lisa’s story, God taught me something invaluable. People do recover, they move on and live full wonderful lives. What a blessing! Lastly I knew I wanted to help others the way she helped me. At that time in my life I was continually seeing people not get the resources they needed. God put it on my heart to one day start a treatment facility with an emphasis on Christianity and the hope of Jesus. This lit a fire within me that has continued to motivate me to this day.
After leaving residential, I was scared. I didn’t know if I could possibly find a second therapist as good as the first, but God, in His goodness, did it again. I sat in a new office with my current therapist. I told her about my disorder and my treatment. She was able to talk to Lisa for a handoff. With no expectations whatsoever I told her that Lisa had lived with OCD and that her insight had really helped me. It turns out that she had OCD too. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t believe I ended up with two extraordinary therapists who have walked through this struggle by chance. I think that God placed these women in my life to assure me that, although what I went through was the most difficult process of my life, God would not waste it. Through every hopeless stroll I took that winter, trekking through the freezing snow, hoping the cold might make me feel alive again, He was preparing me for something greater. And every time I was paralyzed with the kind of fear that I will never forget, He was prepping me to show up with the kind of compassion and insight you can only get from experience. It is because of my suffering that God can use me to reach people and I will be beyond honored to share with them, not only the hope of recovery, but the hope of the Lord!
If there is anything you take away from my story I hope it is this: even in the darkest, most hopeless times of our lives, God is preparing us for something greater. He took something so destructive in my life and turned it into my purpose. How absolutely amazing is that! That’s the kind of God we serve! I went from being non-functioning and flooded with anxiety to where I am now–on my last year of undergraduate school, on the path towards grad school, becoming a licensed therapist, and chasing after the life God intended for me. No matter your situation, whether it be mental illness or not, you’re not walking through it alone. Trust me when I tell you, God’s got you!
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ -Isaiah 41:10
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by Live Original | Jul 3, 2019 | Testimonies |
Many of us don’t want to admit this, but if someone were to randomly put you on the spot to ask you a few questions about the holiday that is smothered in red, white, blue and topped off with some hotdogs and homemade ice cream, you might not be able to tell them much.
If you’re like me, you might answer the question with something like, “It’s a day to celebrate our great country!” then you would quickly and discreetly change the subject to one about hoping for good pool weather.
Can you relate??
Let’s break this down: I’ll tell you WHAT it is, IF we should care, and HOW to celebrate.
1. What is it? Otherwise known as “Independence Day” (think of it as the Beyoncé of holidays), this day marks the celebration of our country’s independence from Britain, which is why we don’t have British accents today. That part is a bummer!
Fun fact: The founding fathers actually voted on July 2, 1776, but “declared” it on the fourth, hence the name of the holiday. See what they did there? 🙂
The reason our ancestors fought for our independence is because the British government was making people in the states (then known as colonies, 13 of them to be exact), pay what they thought to be too high of tax prices on goods without having anyone from the colonies being represented in Parliament (British government). That’s kind of a long explanation to say Britain was asking money from the colonists through high taxes.
So, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, which states why we should be given the right to start our own thing and be independent, was approved. Ever since then our country has been recognized as our very own, free country.
2. Should we care? Friends, the answer should be a great big–YES!
The people at that time cared and fought deeply for our independence. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t go about it perfectly. However, through persistence and determination to seek justice, they were able to pull it off. John Adams, our second president, wrote to his wife on the matter:
“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
Although he was off by two days, we can see that there were men and women who went before us to fight for the space that we now live and feel safe in. Their hope in the unseen is what has carried us to today.
Here is the coolest part. Out of the thirteen colonies, there were a total of 56 representatives who went on to sign this monumental document. Of all these men, ages ranged from 26 to 70 with jobs and backgrounds of all different kinds. From lawyers, to farmers, they all came together and pledged, “to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
If this isn’t a picture of unity, friends, I don’t know what is.
These people had differences, arguments, and obstacles along the way that almost caused the whole thing to blow up. Yet, in the end, they realized that without one another, they would never be able to succeed.
And, get this, at the end of the fight for independence, most of these men were poorer than when they started. I’d like to argue that while our founding fathers had less to show on the outside, they had gained something that no one could take away– freedom and peace. And that is something you and I can never repay. If they were here today, I’m sure the only thing they would ask is that we celebrate in that freedom too.
I can’t help but look at this through the lens of Jesus. Guys, isn’t this what Jesus did for us, too? He gave up every earthy treasure and comfort in order to gain freedom for each of us? But instead of fighting for our citizenship in a new country, he fought for and won our citizenship in heaven.
What does Jesus ask of us in return? The only thing He asks of us is, while on earth, we honor Him and celebrate our freedom from death. A freedom He died on the cross to give us.
As we celebrate, God wants us to call others into this celebration as well. (A.k.a. love others. Loving others is a celebration of His gift to us.) This is all God wants for us, for us to live out of the victory He has won. We see this so clearly in Jesus’ answer when asked what is the most important task we have:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:36
When we look through the lens of our new citizenship, we are able to see others who are also citizens of heaven and join them in the celebration. Just like the colonists, we are also called to set our differences aside to come together for the greater good. Jesus cared so much about unity of this kind, that it was actually the last prayer he prayed right before he was taken to be killed:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:20-23
The good news is we don’t have to sign a document for our freedom, like those who signed the Declaration of Independence. Someone signed on our behalf using red ink. Our names were written down with the blood of Jesus.
Our fight is actually over. **Cue fireworks**
3. How do we celebrate? That’s really the easy part. I hope you have the best day this Fourth of July. I hope you do it all–fireworks, pool time, hot dogs, watermelon, red, white and blue tablecloths, and quality time with friends and family. I also pray you take a moment, as you are celebrating, to remember all the men and women who went before you. Those faithful men and women who fought on American soil for your right to be here today.
Above all, I hope you have a moment with the One who, long before America’s founding fathers were on the earth, fought for you in a different way. That fight guaranteed your freedom to choose your heavenly home.
THAT is something to celebrate!
How will you celebrate this July 4th? Share your plans below!
by Jayda Iye | Jun 10, 2019 | Featured, Testimonies |
I get asked all the time how I became an orphan. What were the circumstances that led me to my family here in America? It’s complicated, but I am going to try and tell you my story.
I was born in a refugee camp in Sierra Leone, West Africa at the end of a civil war that destroyed communities and took thousands of lives. My family was a casualty in that war. They were forced to leave our home and sent to camps where they could get food and support because the rebels had left them with nothing.
I was born in the middle of that crisis. My father was assumed dead and my mother had MANY kids. She couldn’t care for me and, like many children during that time, my life was at risk.
When I was two years old, I was abandoned to an orphanage. I have very few memories of my time there which is probably a good thing. The orphanage had little support and few staff members. I was severely neglected during my time there.
While I was living in this dark place, on the other side of the world, God was moving in the hearts of my parents.
Here is the story I have come to love. One day my mom was searching the internet, studying the orphan crisis. She found a website filled with thousands of pictures of children from all over the world who were orphaned and waiting for families to adopt them. She was looking for a little boy because she already had a biological son, my brother Jordan, and thought another boy would fit perfectly into their family. Little did she know GOD had other plans that day.
She clicked on a link that was tagged as a boy–two years old–living in Africa. When the picture loaded, she saw my face. And, according to her, everything changed at that moment. She has always told me that the photograph spoke directly to her heart and, out of all the kids she had seen, I was the only one smiling. She tells me she learned her fist big lesson on overcoming adversity and hard things when she realized there I was, in a war torn country, abandoned, and broken, yet smiling with hope and joy in my eyes.
After that day, she and my dad went on a mission to find and adopt me. They wanted to give me a life that couldn’t have in Africa.
I wish I could say that it was easy for them, but it was almost impossible. They failed many times, spent every dime, and were told over and over again that it would never happen. They were told I wasn’t worth it. They were told I was better off there. But, they knew differently and they listened to the voice of truth telling them a different story.
Even though my parents starting working on the adoption process when I was two, I didn’t get to come home with them until I was five. In God’s goodness. I don’t have many memories of my time in the home.
A few years after we became a family, my parents decided to go back to Sierra Leone. And after seeing the number of children still suffering, they opened a children’s home for vulnerable, neglected, and orphaned kids. It has been remarkable how quickly it has grown.
In 2012, my mom took me back to Sierra Leone to visit the kids and to find my birth relatives. It was amazing to meet my birth mom and my siblings. Sadly, my birth mom continued to struggle and was unable to parent her other children. Ultimately, she abandoned them as well. Thankfully, down the road, they were adopted by very close friends of our family and I get to see them ALL the time.
During this same time, our family decided to adopt several more kids. While I was in Sierra Leone I got to meet them. It was amazing.
In 2013, we went from a family of four to a family of seven, and then in 2014 my youngest sister Willa joined our family. We now have six kids–three boys, three girls–and two dogs, Life is crazy, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. We are just like anyone else, but we know how important love and family are. We also know that helping others has to always be what comes first.
People ask me, “What’s next? and “Where are you headed?”
Well, I LOVE photography and have started my own business. Why am I passionate about photographs? It all goes back to the picture my mom found of me. Remember I said it was a photo of me smiling that captured her heart. One photo caused my parents to cross the world to find me. I grew up realizing that one photo can change the course of your life, just like it did for me. I think that’s why I love photography and taking pictures. I get to capture other people’s lives and tell them that they are beautiful and they can seriously do anything, no matter want anyone says.
My parents have taught me so much about not giving up, fighting for what matters, and following your dreams. They always played the song, “Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns when they were fighting for my adoption. They declared the lyrics out loud and trusted in its words.
The verse and chorus is this:
Oh what I would do to have the kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in onto the crashing waves.
To step out of my comfort zone into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is.
And He’s holding out His hand, but the waves are calling out my name.
And they laugh at me reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed.
The waves they keep on telling me time and time again. “Boy, you’ll never win!” “You’ll never win!”
But the voice of truth tells me a different story. The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
I think those lyrics are so powerful and tell me that our GOD is a good God and is bigger than anything.
I hope my story inspires you and helps you see that no matter what your beginning looks like, no matter what you face in your life, you can change the ending. You can go after what’s important. You are valued by God and He sees you even in the darkest places. His design is for you to rise up and be all He has called you to be. Your past doesn’t define who you are now; YOU have a purpose. I found mine. I pray you find yours, too.
I want to leave you with this scripture:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Jayda is an aspiring photographer who lives in Nashville, TN. In her free time, she loves dancing to jams in her room, eating pancakes, and spending quality time with her incredible family and friends.
Follow Jayda on Instagram @jaydaiye
by Taylor Leatherwood | Jun 5, 2019 | Featured, Life Advice, Testimonies |
Have you ever felt alone?
Like at the end of the day when your phone stops buzzing and the notifications stop coming. When everything finally quiets down and you’re left alone with nothing but your thoughts. How do you feel? Maybe a little uneasy? Maybe a little uncomfortable?
When was the last time you were able to sit alone with yourself and enjoy it?
In my opinion, aloneness is not to be feared. It’s not to be avoided or rushed through or looked down upon. We all eventually find ourselves in seasons of aloneness. Whether this is by choice or due to factors outside of our control, these moments seem unavoidable. The key here is how we handle them. While the world can view aloneness as rejection, Jesus viewed aloneness as opportunity. An opportunity to lean in, to embrace the discomfort, and to find out more about your identity in the Father.
This is a lesson I learned the hard way.
When I was in my mid-twenties, I had a really difficult time being alone. I was filling my schedule with ways to please people so that I could feel like I was needed. I was desperately trying to build a platform on social media, constantly posting, scrolling and counting likes, looking for affirmation that I was a “somebody.” And at times I was even going to places I shouldn’t have been going to, drinking drinks I didn’t need to be drinking to help distract me from feeling alone.
To make matters worse, I ended up going through a rough breakup, quitting my job without having another one lined up, and losing some of my friends that weren’t good influences in the first place. After all of this I found myself in a heavy season of isolation, in need of the Father and of the peace of mind and calm heart that only He can bring. I finally found myself truly alone, with nothing left but a spirit that was finally willing to completely surrender itself to the Lord.
During this season for me, it just so happened that my pastor preached a pretty powerful sermon specifically on the topic of solitude. In his sermon, he shared a quote that I found so challenging and convicting that it completely reshaped my approach to the idea of aloneness:
“It is this nothingness (in solitude) that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that everything in me wants to run to my friends, my work, and my distractions so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something. The task is to persevere in my solitude, to stay in my cell until all my seductive visitors get tired of pounding on my door and leave me alone. The wisdom of the desert is that the confrontation with our own frightening nothingness forces us to surrender ourselves totally and unconditionally to the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Henri Nouwen
So my question to you is: in your moments of aloneness, are you leaning more towards distractions, or more towards surrender?
I had clearly been leaning towards distractions, so it was a big shift when I started to intentionally lean more towards surrender.
I started with quiet time. And you know what? So did Jesus.
If we look at the life of Jesus we see a life in pursuit of solitude. Countless times Jesus withdraws or escapes from crowds into places where he can be alone and have quiet time.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35) NIV
Do you take time to get up and pray, alone?
“After [Jesus] had dismissed [the crowds], he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was [still] there alone.” (Matthew 14:23) NIV
Do you leave the crowds or parties to just be alone sometimes?
“Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:15-16) NIV
Jesus demonstrates to us that prayer in solitude is the first place we should turn when the distractions of the world start asking for our attention. When we seek the Father in quiet time through reading the Word or by posturing our hearts for prayer, we are essentially tuning our hearts to His. And what better way to equip ourselves for how to face the challenges of every day life than with a heart and mind that is tuned to God’s?
I learned to want that for myself above any other distraction. And my hope is that you desire that too.
Here are some ways I overcame distractions when I started my season of consistent quiet time:
Delete your social media apps: I found that deleting social media apps off my phone was helpful. I didn’t need to delete my account, just the app itself to remove the temptation. Then I’d download the app again later when I was in a good mental place to check in on everything.
Set boundaries or times to check your phone: I also started making rules for myself on when I could check my phone’s email or respond to text messages. I placed boundaries on these distractions and this allowed me to more fully dive into my quiet time.
There are things to be learned in seasons of aloneness, and God puts us there when He wants us to listen. If we rush through it or distract ourselves, we just might miss something important. We have to learn to sit alone with ourselves and with our thoughts. Learn to lean into God and rely on Him fully as He removes our distractions one by one. Confront our nothingness so that God can fill us with His Holiness. In the isolation we have to surrender everything so that we can truly find our identity fully in God. And this, this place of complete surrender to Him, this is the place where we want to build from. We grow from there. And it permeates every other area of our lives – eventually, the area of relationships.
When we are fully in God we are fully ourselves, and when we are fully ourselves we can be who we were meant to be for our relationships. We breathe life into our families, friends and significant others, and this cultivates relationships of the highest caliber.
When I finally came out of my season of solitude, I was beaming. I knew my identity and who I was in Christ. I was confident and mentally strong. And this allowed me to play the role for my family and friends that I was designed to play. It also helped to prepare me for who I was meant to be for my fiancé. If Courtney and I had met prior to that season, I’m not sure she would have even recognized me as someone she could see a future with. I had to go through the desert of isolation and lean into my season of solitude with the Lord, so that I could learn my true identity in Him and become the person He made me to be.
Taylor Leatherwood lives in Nashville, TN. He was raised in a Christian home in Tampa, FL, and 7 years ago, after graduating from Florida State University, moved to Nashville, TN to work in the music industry. He loves to spend his free time going for drives or taking his dog, Regan, for a run. Two years ago he met Courtney Kruger (part of team Live Original) and fell in love. They got engaged last November and will be married in August.
by Riley Clemmons | May 29, 2019 | Life Advice, Testimonies |
There is something incredibly satisfying to me about numbers and facts. Despite the fact that I have a pretty typical hardcore creative personality (and I wasn’t exactly the shining star of my high school math classes), I love logistics. Loooooove.
With that being said, I think it’s pretty obvious that in this social media, technologically-driven world we live in, a lot of information is thrown at us every single day. To be precise, a study taken in 2009 from the University of California-San Diego reported that the average American takes in “34GB of data and 100,000 words of information per day.”
Just to clarify, that is A LOT of information (and the only statistic you’ll read in this post, I promise).
Just a few days ago, it occurred to me that, for years, I’ve acknowledged Cinco de Mayo as a holiday without actually being aware of exactly what it celebrates. So, I did what every other 19- year-old would do—I instantly typed my question into Google; instantly getting my answer. It was then that my grandmother kindly reminded me that “in her day” she would have had to go to the library and look in an encyclopedia to find the information she was seeking. She would’ve had to take action to find what she was looking for.
And just like that, I was taken back to the wise words of my incredibly brilliant high school choir director and mentor — “There is incomparable value in delayed gratification.” When her students would struggle to learn harmony parts or hit notes on pitch, she would always remind us exactly why we spent time practicing and working hard to sing accurately and skillfully. The gratification wasn’t necessarily found in the hours spent rehearsing but found in the moment that the hours paid off — when the student nails the harmony and hits the note. Yet, the strength and determination were actually built during the time spent failing and then deciding to get up and try again.
Somehow, despite the millions of words and pieces of advice that I’ve taken in over the past few years, her words have always had a way of sticking with me.
“There is incomparable value in delayed gratification.”
In an age of press and go, there is unrivaled worth in the areas of life that aren’t so “immediate.”
I tend to put an unrealistic amount of expectation and pressure on myself. If I’m being honest, I’m quick to fall into the dangerous idea trap of “overnight success.” Whether it’s success surrounding my career, my relationships, my health, or my spiritual life, I crave immediate results. I crave the instant gratification of clicking the search button and finding what I’m looking for right in that very moment. However, when I’m navigating life with this mindset, my patience seems to go right out the window, and time becomes my biggest enemy. The “waiting” for my desires and goals becomes absolutely unbearable.
More so than that, the pressure to immediately succeed tends to make me resent the fact that I don’t already have the success I’m wanting, that I don’t already have every aspect of my career, relationship, health, or spiritual life figured out (Spoiler Alert: no one does). I fall victim to insecurity and shame, so obsessed with my own timeline that I forget that a better one is already very much in action, even in the moments when I can’t see it at all.
Aha! That’s where faith comes in — trusting that God has the timeline of your life in His hands, trusting that God’s timeline for you is greater than what your wildest dreams could ever conjure up. And to tell you the truth, actively living out that trust is not always an easy thing for me. Being as type-A as I am, I love having control and answers (see the first few sentences of this post).
That being said, when I pray, I sometimes get in the mindset of thinking that the only two possible answers from God are a “yes” or “no.” In a rush to press the gas pedal and get to that next milestone or goal, I convince myself that I’m either going to get a green light, checking off another box to get where I want to be, or stuck at yet another red light.
But here’s a thought: What if God is saying “Not yet” instead of no?
What if God is saying, “Slow down. Look out the window! There is something for you right here in this very moment.”
God is so much more than a distant authority granting us a variety of “yeses” and “noes.”
God is a relational God. He knows our hearts better than we ever could and has plans to give us a hope and future — even when we can’t see it.
In a conversation with my pastor a few weeks ago, he reminded me that God has a brilliant way of preparing us for what He has prepared for us. Looking back, I can see how the moments I’ve spent in waiting for the next “big thing” have been some of the most pivotal moments of my life so far. Those seemingly dreaded pauses, stop signs, and delays served as the moments when I’ve been forced to dig deeper, seeking God in ways that I never had before.
That month when I would sit alone in my room, more isolated and misunderstood than ever before. That year when I was convinced I could never be a good enough writer or singer to succeed in the music business. Those moments when I’ve told myself that I would never be beautiful enough to be worthy of love. My hardest times have pushed my faith and continue to teach me what it means to trust and rely on God’s control. Those moments have prepared me for what’s next, helping me find the strength that it takes to move forward with grace and confidence.
And I believe that now, even in the waiting, God is telling me to slow down and look out the window. In a world that is so instant, the real beauty is hidden within the journey. Strength is found one step at a time. Faith is chosen during the bumps in the road.
It’s okay to be a work in progress. It’s okay to still be “figuring it out” (another Spoiler Alert: we all are).
Among the 100,000 words of information you’ll receive today, I hope you remember and remind yourself that God has placed value in this very moment of your life, no matter how significant or insignificant the moment might seem to you. God has something prepared for you, and even though the season of preparing can be difficult, it is not in vain. You’re only going to be better and stronger because of it.
So, I encourage you to enjoy the pauses. Soak them up. Look out the window. Search for something new. Find the beauty. Grow in strength.
God has something extraordinary prepared for you.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Riley Clemmons is a 19-year-old, Nashville-based singer, songwriter signed to Capitol CMG whose sound is pop with spiritual depth. The Nashville native began writing at the age of 13 while maintaining the full-time demands of being a student. Fast forward five years, you find a seasoned songstress who has collaborated with some of the most talked about writers on Music Row like Emily Weisband, Josh Kerr and more. 2018 marked the debut of her full-length, self-titled album. “Fighting For Me” is her latest single.
Follow Riley on Instagram @rileyclemmons
by Kailee Elise | May 24, 2019 | Sisterhood, Testimonies |
Note from Team LO: We are SO excited to bring you this month’s post from our LO Fam member, Kailee! If you want to know more, check out our online community of sisters here!
Recently I’ve been in a season of waiting. This is a period of my life I wanted to breeze through, hoping it would go by as fast as possible. Or, skip it altogether. But God had different plans in mind. And now, a few months into this season, I’ve finally started to see reasons why and have learned some very valuable lessons.
So let’s start at the beginning. I graduated high school a semester early. I’ve wanted to move to Washington State for as long as I can remember. I was hoping to move out right after I graduated, but that didn’t happen. My parents wanted me to stay in Texas, where I’ve lived my whole life, until the end of the official school year, after I’d turned eighteen.
At first I was frustrated. What was I supposed to do with my time? I had graduated high school, so that part of my education was out of the way. For a while now, I’ve felt called by God to follow an entrepreneurial path for my next phase of life, but I had to wait on His timing for my specific dreams to become a reality. One of my dreams was to join a modeling agency. I tried going to open calls in Texas, which are basically meetings to find new people to join the modeling agency, but was turned down by all of the ones I talked to. I prayed for God to open the right doors to the agency I was supposed to be in and lead me to where I needed to be.
Though I was disappointed that the modeling agencies in Texas didn’t work out, I chose to trust in God’s timing. I decided that since I wasn’t accepted to any of the agencies in Texas, I wasn’t meant to be in any of them. But, I didn’t give up on this big dream. I visited Washington State over winter break and went to a few open calls in the area I planned to move to. To my joy, I was accepted by one right away and got a possibility from another. I was so ecstatic, thanking God that He finally opened some doors in an area I was to move to in six months.
But, I still lived in Texas, so I couldn’t join the agency right away. I had to wait until I moved to Washington. I flew back to Texas, disappointed that my life seemed to be on hold and I was stuck in Texas with nothing to do. I did know, though, that God places us where we are for a reason. He has us where we are for a purpose, whether to teach us or to use us to shine his light to those around us. So, I chose to do both the best I could.
I started praying for God to use me where I was to show his love to others. I also used my time to study his word more. I read the Bible, listened to all the current episodes of Sadie Robertson’s “Whoa That’s Good” podcast (which is amazing, by the way), read advice books by Christian authors, listened to sermons online, and joined a Bible Study at my church. I decided I would use this time to my full advantage to grow in my relationship with God.
Looking back at the time that’s passed in this season, the greatest lesson I feel like I’ve learned is how to be content and at peace with where I am in life. I used to constantly be anxious because I didn’t have my life completely figured out. Yes, I had a lot of dreams that I felt like God had placed on my heart, but I had no clue how they would turn out. I didn’t know when or how they would become a reality. But, in studying His word, applying it to my life, and praying for His peace, I’ve finally found His peace.
It definitely didn’t happen overnight. I’ve stressed about my future for years, really since I was thirteen years old. In the second semester of my junior year of high school. I started to constantly be anxious about what I was going to do and be. But now, in this season of waiting, I’ve found peace because I’ve finally chosen to fully have faith in God. Faith means trusting the unseen, letting God lead you even when things don’t make sense, or you don’t have all the answers. I finally realized, I don’t need to know all the answers right now. When it’s time, He’ll show me the ones I need to know and open the right doors.
My favorite verse throughout this season has been Proverbs 16:9, which says, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” I love this so much because it basically says that we can dream about how we hope our future will turn out, but God’s way will come through in the end. Our dreams may not work out like we think they should or when we think they would, but they will work out exactly how God wants them to. Sometimes it’s a long process of following God’s lead, taking one step after the other. Even one season after the other. But keep in mind that sometimes the “going through process” is needed to grow us closer to God and to be fully ready for His promise.
Another lesson I’ve learned is how to find contentment and true joy in this season, and in life in general. All my life I’ve wished I was further along. When I was little, I wished I was older. When I became a teenager, I wanted to be an adult. When I graduated high school, I wanted to be moved out and pursuing my dreams career-wise.
For a while after returning to Texas after winter break, I was discontent. I remember crossing out the days on my calendar in my planner eagerly day after day. I was thankful that as each day passed, I was a day closer to moving out. But a few months passed and I continued to try to grow closer to God and live out my purpose where I was. I changed my focus from what I wanted more of to being thankful for what I already had. I looked at the advantages of staying in Texas longer, and the opportunities I have here that I wouldn’t have gotten if I moved out right away.
For one, I have so much more time with my family that I won’t see as often once I move across the country. I’m currently able to see my parents and siblings every single day. I’ve also been given more time with my extended family that live in Texas, including my cousins. We’ve been able to hang out and have a few sleepovers, which will happen more this summer before I head off. Even though this season has seemed slow at times, I’ve been able to make countless memories that I’ll remember forever. So really focusing on the blessings that God has given me right now has led me to being content and joyful during this time.
Overall, I’ve learned so much throughout this season. God has used this time to grow me in places that I needed it. I’ve learned to find true joy and peace with where I am, even when I’m not as far along as I’d like to be some day, or when I don’t know all, or even any, of the answers. I’ve also learned to trust in God’s timing.
If you’re in a season of waiting, I hope this encourages you. I want you to know that God has you in the place you’re in right now for a reason. There are people He needs you to shine His light into their lives. There are lessons He needs you to learn. Just remember that He loves you, hears every single one of your prayers, and is constantly working in your life through every season, whether fast, slow, hard, or amazing.
Kailee Elise is a YouTuber that makes lifestyle and vlog-type videos. She is passionate about shining her light for Jesus. She also loves dance, coffee, fitness, and fashion.
