WHERE AM I?!?!

I don't have to tell you this. You already know. LIFE IS SO DANG UNPREDICTABLE. One second everything is smooth sailing, and the next second you're SCREAMING AND PLUMMETING DOWN TO THE EARTH IN A WHIRLWIND WITHOUT KNOWING HOW YOU GOT IN THE AIR IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE EVERYTHING HAD JUST BEEN SO PEACEFUL BUT NOW YOU'RE ABOUT TO SMACK INTO THE GROUND AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN GET TO FINISH YOUR CHOCOLATE BAR.

I have experienced this once or twice. You know what I've discovered? It's not that fun no matter how many times it happens and you never get used to it.

(Yeah, I may only be 20. But one time I asked God for wisdom and He decided to give me some. I'll share my insight and you can take what you need.)

How should we respond to these random plot twists in our very own life stories?

From personal experience I can tell you that if you look to GOD in these unique situations, the process is a lot smoother (emotionally, at least). Sure you still have to go through the "now what!?!?!?" phase, but the blows to your heart will not be as gut wrenching as they would have been without God's supernatural comfort.

Personal example: I am a people pleaser. I pride myself in getting along with all different types of people. One of my main passions is that everyone succeeds and is there for each other all along the way. I don't want one person to feel unwanted, out of place, or alone. However, once in a blue moon someone comes along that doesn't agree with me. Someone comes along who doesn't like to keep peace. I love these people anyway. I want them to feel Jesus' love and acceptance more than anyone else around me at the very moment they try to undercut me and take away my joy. But any of you other people pleasers will know that this HURTS and really throws off your groove. Why don't they like me? Why can't we be friends? (Cue War's song here--You're welcome for getting this stuck in your head for the rest of your life.) Are they mentally at peace knowing they made me feel this upset when I did absolutely nothing wrong? You know what... the only thing you can do in these moments is to PRAY. You, as a human being, are not strong enough to show grace to the people who are constantly trying to tear you down. But God is strong enough and will help you. What better way to show Satan who's boss than to strive for unity even when you're unjustly being targeted!!! God can comfort your heart so that this isn't what you think about all the time. The relationship will mend in time--I promise. (SHAMELESS PLUG--Check out my older blog post "How to Handle Horrible Humans" for more on this specific topic.)

Another totally different example: Thousands of dollars in debt later I realized that school is STUPID for someone like me who doesn't have one single career she's passionate about. This past year of working my butt off to get out of debt has been the worst year of my life. And I did not look to God. I, my joy and (probably) those around me suffered greatly because of it.

After a year of dog-paddling my way around my pity pool of purposelessness, I realized why I had been struggling so hard. Only within the past month I have decided to take my own advice and backstroke my way outta these choppy waters. Maybe I still would have had to endure a year of working my way out of almost $20,000 that I didn't have, but I personally would not have spiraled as badly as I did if I had just focused on the One who has been rooting for me all along the way. My mindsets were all wrong and I lost myself because of it. BUT now that I am in a dead sprint towards Jesus and I can't even recognize the girl in the pictures I was taking two weeks ago.

There are so many things that go a totally different way than we expect. (Kind of like the American Idol results from this year, AMIRIGHT!?!??!) If life were a sims game it would get BORING. What's not boring is constructing your prayers to fit the situation you're in to sound as selfless as possible. How can your miserable situation benefit those around you? How can you demonstrate God's love in the midst of the worst trial you've ever faced? In the middle of your uncertainty, how can you put your full trust in God?

The answers to these questions may just have to be you hashing it out with Him and experiencing it for yourself. HOWEVER. Your experiences don't have to be quite as painful as they could be, because there are some tools that you can use even without being trained how. Just because you can sort of nail a picture to the wall with a crowbar doesn't mean you should ignore the hammer.

Zephaniah 3:17

"The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

Philippians 1:6

"Be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Even in unpredictability, God is good. I say this with absolute certainty: HE IS ON YOUR SIDE. Above are a couple of Bible verses that will never change because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Look to Him in your random circumstances and your heart will be forever grateful for it.

Thank you for reading my comeback post! I have missed you all hehe