lifewithomg

I have many talents. I can spit out Disney facts on demand, name all fifty states in alphabetical order, and my personal favorite, stress out over just about everything that life throws at me. I knew life was hard, but I didn’t really get a taste of the bitter truth until my senior year in high school. Juggling my regular courses, online classes, marching band, and being involved in two rigorous programs that required all of your attention was a lot for 17 year old me. I sort of felt like the poor Mr. Krabs, shown below:

One year and three jobs later, I was spiraling out of control. I thought I decreased the stress by moving back home and minimizing a small portion of my work load. Not so much. Loans, bills, okay grades, and life in general always has a way to ruin your day if you’re not careful. You know how you’re supposed to take a step into a new season of your life? Well, it felt like I fell down-head first-on a flight of really, really steep stairs.

Speeding down the path to destruction, I couldn’t help but feel as if that was all my life would ever amount to: working multiple jobs to pay for a school I didn’t even like and staying in my room every night because I had no genuine friends to call my own. After two years, I quickly burned out. I was not happy and if you know me, that’s scary. The girl who you could always look to for a comforting word or smile to brighten your day was no more. If you asked me how I was, I’d just lie and say I was fine. No one wanted to hear the truth. They couldn’t handle it and neither could I. In this instance, I never felt bad for lying because honestly, I wanted to believe it myself. I longed to just be Me.

I didn’t start to feel relief until I made the ultimate decision to take a break from school (two days before it started, actually!) My mother had been telling me for months to take some time off to just breathe, but who listens to their parents? I mean, am I right or am I right?! *sarcasm intended, Mom* 

Isn’t it funny how sometimes we miss what God is trying to tell us, simply because we don’t like the situation-or person-He has brought into our lives? It’s true when they say that truth hurts. It does! Instead of taking the easy, less stressful road and listening the first time, wisdom just goes through one ear and out the other. Imagine the wonders and blessings that we could’ve received, had we’ve just stayed faithful and trusted what God was trying to tell us the first time! God should never have to repeat Himself.

As this year progresses, I find myself constantly turning back to one of my new favorite verses. “‘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. I started high school with extreme dreams and a not so solid plan to get there. Dreaming of getting straight As, taking on two jobs in college to save for a five star restaurant, somehow get married, start a family, and buy an island. I would retire at the age of 25 and move my family to beach houses on my island. For about 3 years, I was completely serious. Once I chickened out of the culinary industry, my dreams changed at least five times in three years. The question I absolutely hated the most and anything similar to it, “what do you want to do with your life?” Want to be my enemy? Ask me where I see myself next year. If one more person asked me why I didn’t have my life together, I was going to scream in their face and have an emotional breakdown.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. I’m sorry what was that, God? I can’t hear you, I’m too busy stressing over what college to go to, because that ultimately determines my future. “For I know the plans I have for you.” I’m sorry, one more time? The deafening sound of my empty stomach as I try to make ends meet financially is really sidetracking. “I have plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.“

If no one has ever told you this before, I’m honored to give you this life-changing news… God’s got you!! He’s got you! It may seem like the situation that you are in now is tough, maybe even the worse days of your life, but I promise you, He would never put you in a situation that you cannot handle. He didn’t bring you this far to abandon you! He will always equip you with what you will need to pull through. Believe me when I say that for three years, I had no clue what I wanted to do. It was one of the roughest points in my life. I honestly still don’t know. I take heart in what I know to be true. God loves His children. His grace is sufficient. He is always there when you need Him. It’s important to learn to walk by faith, not by sight. God has never failed, so why would He want to start now?

Life is hard. It’s stressful, crazy, and filled with weird people. We weren’t meant to go through it alone. So whenever you feel like the self-doubt and stress is overbearing, just breathe. God’s got you.

Walking By Faith (and loving every step!),

OMG