Whatever Is True

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling... not 22.

You know when you're birthday is a couple days away, you just start considering yourself the next age? Well, this is the first year where I held onto 25 as long as I could. I woke up on Monday morning (the 26th anniversary of my birth) thinking, "Nope. Still 25. And I'm still 25 until about 2:30pm."

If someone would have asked me where I'd be at the age of 26, where I'm at now would be no where near my answer. "Oh, I'd be married with kids or working my dream job!" I never imagined being 26, still single, still dealing with the death of my dad, and living with my mom. Not that singleness is bad or living with my mom is bad. It's just not what I had in store for my life.

26 brought on so many anxieties that I wasn't prepared for.
Hello, quarter-life crisis!

• What am I doing with my life?!
• Will I ever get married?!
• Am I at the right job?!

Loaded stuff, right?
A verse I've been memorizing is Philippians 4:8-9: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me- practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

I've had to learn to take certain thoughts captive and replace them with "whatever is true," of my life. And what is true of my life?

• My life is guided by an all-knowing, gracious, perfect, God. He knows where I need to go and the timing of it all.
• I know and am loved by the creator of all things. He gives good gifts to His children and knows when to give the gifts. "For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly." [Romans 5:6] So, if God knows the right time to send His Son, the Savior of the world, to die for their sins, that they could spend an eternity with Him in Heaven and be freed from their sinful captivity, He probably knows when I should get a new job. Or when I should get married.

So how can I think about "whatever is true," when it comes to my dad?

• I got to spend 24 years with him. Which is more than some people can say.
• My dad knew Jesus as his Savior. I can rest assured that he is in Heaven, and not suffering for eternity in hell. He has seen his Maker face-to-face and his tears have been wiped away. He knows no pain and death is just a memory.

Are you certain that when you die you would go to Heaven? Why are you (un)sure? If you look at the 10 commandments and measured your life by them, would you pass? Have you ever lied? Dishonored your parents? Stolen? James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it." If you have fallen short just once, you've broken them all.
But we all fall short. All of us have lied, dishonored parents, etc. Romans 6:23-- "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Where is eternal life found? In Jesus.
You've heard it before: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish by have eternal life." [Name that verse!] Why did Jesus come to this earth? If it's not to save this fallen, sinful world from their sin and an eternity in hell, I don't know what the answer is. This verse makes it clear.

Questions? Want to talk? Let me know :) I'd love to chat.

Snow and Trials

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, ALEX??!!"

Friends, if you know me well, you know that I am not great at keeping a blog. To all those who have waited months and months for a new post: today is you're most lucky and blessed day! And you're welcome.

A friend of mine posted on Facebook asking people about their blogs, and that's when I realized I hadn't updated in a long time. Then I started wondering, "Is there a need to blog? Why should I start it up again?" I decided I would (try to) start it again because I experience the crazy love of God every day and He is worthy of being praised and being given all of the credit and glory.

I don't know how much of it will tie in with the experience of losing my dad. The story I'm going to share here does. Some days will. I'll try to make fit in because that was the purpose of starting this blog.

Many of you know of my (annoying) love for snow. It's beautiful. The land is covered in a white blanket of frozen water. It's fun. There's something magical about it. And when I see snow, I'm reminded that God knows me, loves me, and has not forgotten or abandoned me.

And it never fails: when I'm having a not great day, I see snow. This is not to say I do not have bad days in the summertime... In summer, replace snow with the smell of fresh-cut-grass and that's my reminder that God knows me.
The morning my dad passed away, I was standing at the front door, and I watched the rain turn very quickly to this big, fluffy, white snow. And then the phone rang-- the call that informed us my dad had taken his last breath.

The day before my dad died, my cousin Zannie gave me a ring that says "faith" on it. I wear it every day. It's the only piece of jewelry I own that has any meaning. It is one of few material possessions that have value to me. This morning, it broke (as did the zipper on my purse just an hour before that). And in the midst of many students, I started crying. It was not a good morning.

I walked by the side doors of the school and saw big, fluffy, dancing snow. Again, I was reminded that God loves me and cares about my trials- bigger trials, like losing a parent, and smaller ones, like losing a ring.

What trials are you going through? No matter how big or how small, God really cares about them. Why? Because He's your dad.

Are you aware of how God shows His great love for you in every day life? You should be. It's a beautiful thing.