Healing. Restoration. Happiness

I've always heard people talk about life being a roller coaster but I've never really had an appreciation for what that meant until this year. 2015 has been full of emotions. At times I was up and felt like I could conquer the world and at other times I was down so low I couldn't see purpose in anything in my life and I experienced pain that I thought would never stop or go away.  I've had times where my confidence was so high, I felt like the most royal of queens, and I've also experienced times where I felt so inadequate like I wasn't good enough. Through everything, God always sustained me. He never left me and He always picked me up when I was down. The highs didn't last and neither did the pain. 

When I look back over 2015, I sometimes find myself focusing on things that I could have done better and things that I could have changed but I realize, as cliche as it may be, everything really does happen for a reason. I wouldn't be who I am at this moment in time if it wasn't for everything that I've experienced, especially over the past year. 

One of the biggest things that I'm still trying to learn and put into practice is to "Let it go!" Whatever "it" is, shouldn't have to be forced. No matter whether it's school, a job, a relationship, or whatever, you shouldn't be miserable trying to make it work. That's not what God  wants for you. I'm not saying that everything will be easy or that you won't experience challenges, but what is meant for you will never miss you. So if a fight is one sided "let it go!" Don't run yourself ragged trying to chase something that may not even be for you. God's got you and your time will come. 

I don't know what the future holds, but what I do know is that God loves me and God knows the desires of my heart. God wants what is best for me and because of that I have to let go of what I think I know and let him take the wheel, completely. I'm not one to say new year, new me, but I am thankful for the close of 2015. It was a difficult year and I'm ready to make 2016 amazing. 

My desires for 2016 are Healing, Restoration, and Happiness.

Hope everyone has a great New Year! 

Love, 

JayCherie

Discontent With Being Content

I've been struggling to write another post, not because I'm busy or anything, but because I'm very un-busy( I'm sure I just made up a word). My life is very stagnant right now and it's very frustrating. I have a job....and I have a job. Other than that I'm just living life waiting for the next good thing to happen...and to know me is to know that patience is something that I struggle with, so waiting is not something I'm particularly good at.

So instead of keeping myself busy and thinking about how I can make the best of my time, I started doing what you should never do...comparing my life to other people's lives. Don't get me wrong, I'm very blessed. I have a degree, I have a job that allows me to live decently, I'm content. But I've started to become discontent with being content. I want more. I want new and exciting and I don't have that right now. And that's when the comparing began.

Last week I was scrolling through Instagram and Facebook (I'm positive social media is the #1 killer of peace) and I started seeing all of these people announcing engagements, getting married, announcing that they're having babies, getting these awesome jobs, going to school and I started getting upset because none of that is happening for me right now. I want to get my dream job, I want to get married, I want to have babies so WHEN IS MY TIME? I want everything all at once. I know it doesn't work that way, but my wants began to outweigh what I knew.

My peace became interrupted, once again. I live my life to please God. When I lose sight of that, I tend to stop doing things that are pleasing to Him, and in turn, I lose some of the ammunition that I need to fight the devil. That's when the devil goes to work and my peace is diminished.

I'm still struggling with it at the moment, but I felt drawn to write about it because I'm sure there are others out there who feel the same way. Something that I know, but I temporarily lost sight of is that other people's lives aren't what you see them post. That is why I make an effort to be very transparent. I know that I can post things and make my life seem so amazing and perfect, but that's not how it is in the slightest. I'm constantly growing and I want to share my journey with others so that they can hopefully learn something from my experiences.

Psalm 37:3-4 - Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. (NIV)

Something that I've started to ask myself when I get discontent is "what is it that is stopping me from receiving my blessings?" I want God to do things in my life, but am I doing everything that He is asking of me?

I think that we tend to get so distracted by our lives that we forget that God has a purpose for us. God knows what He needs to do for you, but sometimes there are things He needs you to do first or a place He needs you to get to before you can receive what is meant for you. He longs for us and He wants us completely and totally so that we can fulfill the purpose He has for us. We go through hard times so that we can learn to trust him completely. We experience good times because of His grace and mercy and so that we can see His love for us. But whether good or bad, God still wants us to cling to Him always.

Through my experiences I've learned that God will do whatever it takes to get your attention if He sees you drifting. He will start removing everything that is taking your focus away from Him until you realize that you are nothing without Him.

It doesn't matter what you think you need in life. If you are obedient, and you trust God, He will provide, "exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever ask or think." Obedience is hard, but obedience brings blessings!

Whatever you may be going through, know that it is all going to work out exactly how God intended it to! Listen to what He is asking of you and just do it! It's so worth it in the end!

Love,

JayCherie