When I was younger, my mom used to take us to visit some friends of ours that lived on a farm. One of my favorite games to play at their house was a game we called "Runaway Princess." Basically, my friend Katherine, her younger sister Cecelia, my sister Sarah, and I would pretend we were princesses and that we were running away (pretty simple, hey?). My younger brother Nick and Katherine's brother Gabriel were the bad guys who had to try and catch us. We usually started out at Katherine's house with a backpack or bag or something containing snacks and other miscellaneous articles four princesses might need while they were running away. Then we would sneak and slink, pad and prowl, and sometimes run through the hills, woods, and wilderness and around the barns and gardens, and all through the property. I don't remember what was the safety zone or even if we had one.
I do remember, however, the adrenaline rushing through my veins when we would be hurtling through the yard, running for our lives, hoping they wouldn't see us, and then hearing the enemy scream, "Look! There they are! Get 'em!!!" Then we would manage to lose them when we hid in the brumbles and bushes or ran inside the house. Everything was so dramatic. We whispered everywhere we went so as not to be heard. We planned out intricate and complicated routes that would take us all over creation in hopes that our familial foes wouldn't be able to follow us.
It was truly exhilarating to be a runaway princess.
But this morning, during my devotions, the Lord reminded me that I'm still a runaway princess. I runaway from Him all the time. Each time I listen to the devils lies and give into temptation, I run further and further away from my Father and straight into the arms of sin.
Imagine where would be if I would put the same energy and intensity into my walk with God and listening to what He has to tell me as I did in being a runaway princess. If only I would runaway from the devil, from myself, that quickly. If only I did my best to make the most intricate and complicated routes to get away from temptation.
But it seems like I go back and forth. I run away from sin, then back to it. I run away from God, then back to Him. Sometimes it's so discouraging because I fail so much and I just feel like giving up the fight. It feels like "yo-yo religion." Yo-yos are fun toys. They go up and down, up and down, up and down...but they don't go anywhere. I can't tell you how many times I've felt like that. I'm going up and down, up and down, but I'm not getting anywhere. Might as well give up.
But then this evening, I thought of a better way to illustrate my walk with God. Several weeks ago, I went on a campout to a small cabin across the river, nestled way up in the mountains. I'm not a super outdoorsy person, but they needed staff, so I was the lucky duck to be chosen. I'd been to this cabin once before, but near the end of the school year when there wasn't any snow. Now there was a lot of snow. And to top it off, we had to use snow shoes, which I had never tried before.
As we walked up, the path was fairly wide and became narrower and narrower. In the beginning it wasn't too steep. But pretty soon we walked single file and it was up, up, up. I got so tired sometimes. The snowshoes slowed things down as well. Sometimes I would trip and fall; it felt so awkward, especially since I hadn't done it before.
However, at one point, as we were walking up a small, steep point, I turned around and saw a breath-taking sight--towering snow-covered mountains bathed in sunlight. You have to see it to really appreciate it and know what I'm talking about. We were up so high and were able to see how far we had come, despite the feeling that it was taking an eternity to get there. I told my friend Ashley that it really made a great object lesson, which is the one I want to end with.
In our walk with God, it's easy to become discouraged because the path can be so hard. It gets so steep, we fall so much, and realize how out of shape we are. It might be easier to simply give up, turn around, and go back to a warm bed. But then I have to realize that "the closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes" (BEcho December 1, 1892, par. 5) and that it's the righteous man who falls seven times, but he keeps getting up (see Proverbs 24:16).
The devil would like to convince me that I'm a princess who's run away from the arms of the King too many times, that I'm a yo-yo that isn't going anywhere, but the truth is, if I keep putting my hand in Jesus', then it simply means I'm an awkward, not very experienced snowshoer who's putting one foot in front of the other until she gets to the top. And He will take me to the top, no matter how many times I fall. And at some point, I'll be able to look back and see how far God has truly lead me, even when I felt like it was taking an eternity to get there.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Sabbath Prayer
"Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul" (COL, pg. 159.3).
Sunday, February 3, 2013
My Collection
A lot of people are into collecting.
shoes, hats, mugs, dresses, electric guitars, vintage items, dolls, and the list goes on...
I don't collect many of the above items, but....
I do collect quotes.
I love a good quote. And I love words. It's like there's a little bell inside of me that rings whenever I discover an especially meaningful, witty, or wise saying (I know that's kind of a weird simile, but it's honestly what comes to mind). So my sophomore year in high school I bought a small notebook at Michaels to write them all down. It's not full yet (due to my lack of diligence), but it's definitely over half way. Some of them are funny (I like things that make me laugh) and some are sappy. Some are spiritual and some are just plain weird.
So today, I thought I would pick some to share with you all. The problem is narrowing it down. It would take way too long to write the whole book down.
"There was a definite process by which one made people into friends; it involved talking to them and listening to them for hours at a time." --Rebecca West
"He who knows why can bear any how." --Friedrich Nietzsche
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."--Mark Twain
"A happy family is heaven on earth." --Unknown
"Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying."--Ralph Waldo Emerson
"You're born an original, don't die a copy." --J. Mason
"When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly." --Patrick Overton
This one is kind of long, but I really love it.
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or short coming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." --Teddy Roosevelt
"When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." --George Washington Carver
"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." --John Milton
"Music dances in high meadows of the open mind, far above the reaches of even the noblest of spoken words." --Unknown
"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places." --Ernest Hemingway
"The place where God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." --Frederick Beuchner
"If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility." --Amber Holiday
"Always be kind, for there are many tears shed upon the heart before even one reaches the eyes." --Unknown
These are just random ones I liked from my book. I hope you enjoyed them.
Do you have any favorite quotes? I'd love to hear them and add them to my book:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)