Broken World, Broken Heart

I don't understand. The way our world works, the way our hearts feel, the way our minds think. Why are girls so mean to one another knowing how difficult it is being a girl. We girls, we are full of many emotions. We break a little bit easier at times. We know as a girl, we worry about if our hair looks good today, if the things we have to say sounds stupid, or if our sweater looks good tucked into our jeans, yet we still are hurtful to one another. I don't understand it, but I'm guilty of it. I have been the mean girl, I have seen the mean girl, and I've been face to face with the mean girl. We have all been the mean girl at some time in our lives, and the reality is that we are selfish. We get caught up in ourselves too much we forget others feelings are just as valid as ours. I know this girl that goes to my school, and my heart breaks for her. I never typically liked her, but I don't have a problem with her. Constantly, people are tormenting her in some way. It's never a physical way, it's always verbally, which in my opinion hurts way worse. Words can be like a punch to the heart. The bruises that are left on our heart sticks around longer than bruises on our bodies. You don't have to like a person to be nice to them. In this life, not everyone is going to like you, and you won't like everyone either, but that gives us no right to be hurtful. Nowadays, all it seems like matters is being a tough person instead of being a good person. If coaches taught their athletes the game isn't just about winning, most would get so much farther in life. It's not always about how great you play or perform, but it's about where your heart is. The way you treat others shows where your heart is. You would think if someone experiences lots of heartache and sadness they would never wish that upon someone else, but that's not always the case. Usually the meanest people are the saddest. I wonder, is that why there's so much destruction in our world? Out of all the violence our country and world experiences, it begins with something small. It may start with something small such as hurtful jokes, or it may expand to something much greater involving violence. Those are just some examples, but the point I am trying to get across is that it all starts in your heart. I once heard a sermon talking about the ten commandments, and there was one detail that really stuck out to me. You may know the commandment ''You shall not kill.'' We may, and hopefully have not actually killed someone, but if you've had hate in your heart towards someone, you've committed murdered in your heart. This all leads back to where we began. Not understanding the way our world works, the way our hearts feel, and the way our minds think. The truth is, we won't always know why, because only God can. Only God fully knows and understands our hearts and how they work, ultimately because He is the creator of them. When we draw closer towards God, we see the nasty parts of our heart. It's like the closer you get to a light, the more blemishes you see. The great news is, God can do a heart transformation in us. Once we allow God to come in and change our hearts, the way we think will begin to change, and our actions will begin to change. Our hearts don't have to stay sinful. Our world doesn't have to stay the way it has become.

A Want or A Need?

  Today I was texting my friend Taylor simply asking what the better idea would be for me, to study or lay in my bed after school. I'm indecisive, and I am always asking my friends, "should I go here or there?'' "Should I choose this one or another?'' I asked Taylor, ''Should I just go home and lay in my bed?" She replies with, ''If you want." My response actually blew me away. I texted back with "That's what I want, but I don't know if it's what I need. After I read what I had just sent it utterly shocked me. I realized there was so much truth behind that one text message that I didn't intend to have any meaning in. It made me realize, sometimes, and most times, we know what we want, but it's not necessarily what we need. Yes, I want to go home and lay in bed scrolling through my social medias, but the next day when my test is thrown on my desk in front of me I'll be lost. I don't want to go home and pull out my algebra notes or read about physics, but to prepare for the test that is what I need. In the long run, getting through the time put into studying will benefit me more, and I can still make time later to snuggle up in my bed and scroll on my phone. In the same way, God shows us that what we want, isn't always what we need. Sometimes he takes away that thing our heart wants so bad, and hands us something we need, but it's going to prepare our hearts. We just have to trust that whatever God has, is so much better than anything else you can possibly imagine. He is so much greater than that one thing we want so desperately. Like studying our schoolwork , what God desires for us and what we need will benefit us much later on. We'll be more prepared for that test the next day, or the next trial that comes our way. 

    If what you want is not according to His will, think of how you can change that desire into something according to His will. Ask yourself, ''What do I need,'' not ''What do I want?" "What does God desire for my life?" 1 John 1:14- 15 says, " This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know He hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him.'' This scripture is so eye opening. If the things we want are not for His will, we need new desires. Well how do I do that? Reality is, you can't, but God can. The first step is asking God to come in and change your heart. God will do a full heart transformation in you. You will see your life change from the inside out. I once heard in a sermon, ''God doesn't want to just go in your heart and rearrange furniture. He wants to blow the whole house up and make it brand new.'' That's what God wants, and can do in your life, if you simply open the door. It's that simple. As God changes our hearts, what we want will start to change as well. What we want will begin to look more according to His will, not ours. One of my favorite verses is John 3:30 ''He must become greater and greater; I must become less and less.'' When God comes in and changes our hearts, we become more selfless. We will want God's name to become more known, not our own, and that's exactly what we need. What we need is to become disciples for Christ. Making his name known is our purpose. What we need, is to fulfill our purpose, and that is to love and make Christ's love known. 

    As you go through your day, ask yourself, ''Am I doing what I want, or am I doing what I need,'' then take time to pray about that. 

Little Bit of a Sparkle

You really have to surround yourself with people who make your days brighter, not darker. Those people that push you to succeed. It's the ones that do what's best for you, not hold you back. Love and hold those people close to your heart. They're the ones who make life have a bit of a sparkle in it.