The Lesser-known Handicaps of Height (now you know)

I love over-hearing conversations (not that I am a busy-body, but, if you're talking loudly around me, I may have no choice but to listen). The other day as I was waiting in line at the cafeteria, two guys behind me were having a serious discussion about the draw-backs of being tall. (this is my rendition, paraphrased) "Yeah, man," the one guy said, "there's like less oxygen up here." "Yeah, people don't think about these things," responded the other. "And you know, we're like, closer to the sun, so we get more sun exposure and sun burns..." "Yeah...," said the other, "it's probably the short people that don't think about these things..." I smiled to myself, and did everything I could to not turn around and poke my nose in their conversation. :) I succeeded.

Be Careful What You Pray; You Might Get What You Asked For

Lately, I think God's been trying to teach me patience. I say "trying," because so far, I've been fairly resistant to the whole thing. I remember months ago praying that God would be my all and my everything, my true desire. Word of caution: God will use any means necessary to get you to the point of relying on Him. For me, this meant multiple trials and continued instances where I must practice patience and trust. It's so difficult and frustrating at times, because I cannot see the big picture nor understand the benefit in the struggle.

My Sunday school class is studying Ecclesiastes, and we read through chapter 3 today. This familiar passage reminds us that there is a time for everything under the sun. And we have this assurance: "He has made everything beautiful in its time..." (Eccl. 3:11). In His time, not our time. We were encouraged to think of God as the Beauty-Maker, the ultimate source of control and restoration. So when I prayed "Lord, make me wholly yours, fully dependent on you," I got what I asked for: a closer walk with Him. Of course this is all still in progress, but I'm working on trusting my Beauty-Maker.

A Love that Demands My All yet Provides Everything and More...

I stumbled across the familiar passage in Mark, where the teacher of the law asks Jesus which of the commandments is the greatest. Of course, we know that all commandments boil down to two things: Love the Lord, and love your neighbor. That simple. Then I looked back on the passage. It states: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and will all your soul and will all your mind and will all your strength" (Mark 12:30, NIV). Upon examining this, I realized that this is a pretty taxing command. All my heart, soul, mind and strength? Wow. I must confess, my heart, though completely His, beats for my desires and my will more often than His. And my mind...definitely focused on most everything there is every second of the day, and into the night as well.

I've always known this passage, but lately I saw it in a new light. Instead of seeing how demanding God is, I saw how protective and caring He is toward us. I didn't come to this realization on my own, but through one of the recent speakers here on campus (I can't recall who; there are terribly too many). God asks us to love Him with our all because He will meet our needs and then some. Because He can truly satisfy us, and fill us to the point of overflowing into the lives of others. By loving Him (not ourselves, not a guy or girl, not our possessions) with all of our heart, we are protected from disappointment and rejection. As is the case with all of God's commands, they are for our own good. I guess it just took me awhile to recognize the compassionate provision found in this well-known passage.

Working on giving Him my all,
Larkin

A Life Full of Blessings= A Green Field Filled with Gorgeous Flowers and the Occasional Rock or Hole

Phew, what a long title. I was attempting to be creative, and that's the best I could come up with. I was struck with the rememberence that I am truly blessed, and that I have more reasons to be thankful than unthankful, even after tripping over figurative rocks and falling in occasional holes, and sometimes deep holes at that. It may seem ridiculous, but trials can often cause one to be more grateful. You begin to realize that all that you feel you own, that you believe you control, can be gone in a second, and it is only the Lord of Lords that holds it all together. Paul states in Colossians 1:17 that "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Similarly, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17).

Our Father is good, and knows how to give good things to His children. Yet, how often we overlook these blessings of everyday life. Right now, as I type this, my heart is beating, I'm breathing, and I'm sitting in an air-conditioned room with two of the dearest girls I know. Relationships are blessings, and familiarity should never breed contempt. I am blessed to be here period, being unsure if I could return this semester. But I felt like God would meet me on the other side, if I took a step of faith like Peter and proceeded with confidence. I've come a long ways over the past year, and although it was a rough journey, I am ever so grateful to be where I am today, and for the hard lessons I learned that could not have been learnd without trials. I hope and pray that God will use my experiences to encourage and relate to others, for deep down we all have the same fears and doubts.

So back to the field analogy...take time to notice the flowers, to appreciate their beauty. There will be rocks and holes, but Jesus is the ultimate Shepherd that cares for his flock so that they are "not in want."

Greetings from "Home"!

Hello, all! (whoever may be reading this, any one of my seven trusty followers) I am now back at my second home, my dear school that I have been away from for far too many months. I am halfway through the first week, and things are good. Classes are good, friends are good, all is good...except for God and the cafeteria. The first is great, the second is... so-so. But all in all, I'm very happy to be back, and am so blessed to be here. It's been a long journey, and I'm still on a life-long expedition, but God has been good to me to get me to where I am now, and I am grateful. I know He's not finished with me yet, because, I'm still here aren't I? ;)

Both a Fond Farewell and Long-Awaited Hello

This may be perhaps the final blog I write here from home, until I finally am back "home" (school) after oh so long. I'm eagerly, nervously, anxiously, happily, confusedly excited, if that's possible. But I do believe I am capable of feeling every emotion under the sun all at once; it would not be a surprise. Summer has been good to me, but most importantly, God has been good to me. He provided me an awesome job this summer, and remained true to me even when I felt distant from Him. I love my God. Who can compare? So many times, I wonder what the future holds, and try to fix it before it even gets here. But this verse really tackles that problem: "[God] will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth..." Isaiah 42:16. This is my other favorite: "Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him" Isaiah 64:4. Clearly, God is God, and I am not, and He doesn't need any help or fretting from me to make things happen. In His strength, I will bravely say goodbye for now, and shout a hello of hope to the future.

It's time for a Blog! (thoughts about pain and growth)

So I haven't written anything here for awhile, and thought it would do my mind some good thinking through something worthwhile to say. Recently, I have been so encouraged by friends and family who know where I come from in my daily struggles. It's so easy to feel like you're the only one, that you're the odd one out. But I've found that whatever your situation may be, someone else is experiencing it too. I've also found that through pain and discomforts (which I initially would never have chosen) I have developed closer communion with God and my fellow man. It's as if suffering and pain makes us human, and until we experience it, we are not fully connected to other people because we cannot relate. The Bible says to consider suffering "pure joy," and although I can't say I'm ecstatic, I can say pain has definitely molded me more into the person I wanted to be.