{.strange familiar.}

It's easy for a heart to wander when the strange becomes familiar and the familiar becomes strange. / An escape becomes the desire of this wandering heart.  / It turns to move forward. To find a new path. But the strange becomes familiar as the past makes its presence known. / It turns to its refuge; its place of security. But strangeness has taken over as the eerie silence of what was once there is no longer. / It questions where to turn. When every direction holds a strange familiar how does one escape?

The only solution I can come up with is simple. You can't. Maybe God made things this way to point this heart to Him. {Proverbs 18:10...The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.} He is the only direction in which all things stay the same...in which familiarity and strangeness are never intertwined. Reality is cold sometimes, but you can only hide under the covers for so long. Seek Him. Trust Him. Run to Him.

{God, be my escape.}

{one life to live.}

We have ONE life to live.

Lately I've been convicted with how I've been living mine. I've been burdened with the thought of who I've been living for all this time. I've been living for myself more than I've been living for God. Taking a glance at my life I realize how often I seek things that will make me happy but have no eternal value. I let so many things upset me and even worse, I never take those burdens to God. I always run to my friends with the latest news in my life in hopes that they will make everything better, but how often do I run to God? 100 years after I'm gone from this world, what will matter? Those silly little fights with friends, whether I'm in a relationship or not, whether or not I get my way? No, none of it will. What WILL matter is how I handle those situations. Will I let my selfishness get in the way of serving my God? I don't want to keep going on like this. For too long I've been chasing happiness. Looking to friends and relationships to fill the emptiness inside. It's taken me a long time to realize it, but nothing and no one can make me complete. No one...not even the ones we think love us the most can fix things. People can encourage us, they can help us when we fall, but they can't complete us. God sometimes sends storms to make this known...whether it be in the form of taking something away, allowing sickness in us or a loved one, honestly there are probably over a million different forms a storm can come to shake things up...to get our attention.

But even when storms come...please don't give up. Use it as a motive to push harder. I'm talking to myself here too. I know it's easier to curl up in bed and ignore the chaos. I know it's easier to take things into your own hands. I know it's hard to let something go when you've held on for so long. Remember why you're here. Are you here to live for what makes you happy or are you here because God placed you here to bring Him glory? I'm not saying God wants us to be miserable, but rather we are to desire Him so much that nothing else matters. It is only then that we can find complete joy. Nothing else satisfies other than to live for God and God alone. Things and people may make you happy for a short time, but only joy in the Lord lasts an eternity.

I have joy...not based on circumstances by any means, but because my burdens have been handed over to an almighty God. I want to live with eternity as my focus. I want to live for what brings glory to God and furthers His kingdom...not what makes me "happy." It feels good knowing that I don't have to work so hard to make my life work...God has that in control. Such a burden lifted! My job in life is to live for my God and bring Him glory in all that I do. So much more fulfilling than living for myself. Don't you agree? =) God bless!