Perfect Love

I remembered someone giving me this to read a couple years ago when I was going through a tough time and it really spoke to me. Just thought I would share it....

"Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God, to the Christian, says, "No, not until you are satisfied and content with living, loved only by me alone to have an intensely personal and unique relationship. I love you my child, and until you discover that only in me is your satisfaction to be found, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship that i have planned for you. You will NEVER be united with another until you are united with me - exclusive of any other desires or longings. I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow me to give you the most thrilling plan exsiting, one that you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you. Keep watching me, expecting the GREATEST things. Keep that attitude knowing that I AM. Keep learning and listening to the things I tell you. You must wait, don't be anxious and worry. Don't look around at what others have gotten or who i have given them. Don't look at the things or relationships you think you want. Just keep looking up to me, or you will miss what I have to show you. When you are ready, I will surprise you with a love far more wonderful than you will ever dream. You see, until the one I have for you is ready, (I am working this minute to have you both ready at the same time) and until you are both satisfied with me and the life I have prepared for you, you will not be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with me -PERFECT LOVE"

GIVING..it's the gift that keeps on giving!

"Everyday, we get to give the gift of life. It can be painful. It can be terrifying. But in the end,it's worth it; Every time. We all have the opportunity to give. Maybe the gifts are not as dramatic as what happens in the operating room. Maybe the gift is to try and make a simple apology. Maybe it's to understand another persons point of view. Maybe it's to hold a secret for a friend. The joy supposedly is in the giving. So when the joy is gone, when the giving starts to feel more like a burden, that's when you stop. But if you're like most people I know, you give till it hurts...and then you give some more." --Meredith, Grey's Anatomy

This quote was from the most recent episode of Grey's Anatomy which was the "holiday" episode. When I heard her say it, it really struck me. When the holiday season rolls around, a lot of us get caught up in the shopping and all the superficial stuff. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely all about some shopping and I LOVE the holiday season; it's my absolute favorite time of year, but sometimes I have to stop and remind myself of what it's really all about. I have found that when I give a gift, give of myself or of my time that's when I receive the most joy. I was starting to feel sort of down about this holiday season because of various reasons, but a very dear friend of mine reminded me that I will be doing a great thing on Christmas eve (working) which will be bringing life into the world on the day of Jesus' birth! How neat is that?! That really helped me change my perspective on things. Because helping bring life into the world is really the greatest gift of all. God gave His one and only son, Jesus for each and every one of us. That's what Christmas is all about...and I'm constantly having to stop and remind myself of that when I catch myself getting caught up in other things...

Taking time to stop and smell the roses...

Have you ever felt like you were waiting to hear from God and you couldn't hear Him? Have you ever felt like you couldn't hear His tiny whispers and if He wanted you to hear something He was literally going to have to shout it to you? Sometimes we hear those tiny whispers and it's such a wonderful feeling because it's almost like feeling something soft & simple...like a cool breeze blowing through your hair. But sometimes, for me, I feel such unrest about something and for whatever the reason may be, I'm not hearing His soft, gentle whisper. For that reason, I NEED Him to SHOUT to me; put it RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE where there is NO WAY I can miss it. Let me share with you what God has been literally been shouting at me the last couple of days. 

CONTENTMENT! God has basically been saying to me to just be content with where I am in my life RIGHT NOW and not worry about WHERE I AM GOING or WHERE I WANT TO BE. That topic has been brought up on several occasions in the last couple of days and I have just felt like God has wanted me to hear it. Not only has God used people to speak that to me, but also for me to voice that to others that may need to hear it. It's really an awesome thing! My roommate, Natalie and I were enjoying a great moment together the other night. We had spent the entire day together (which contrary to popular belief, doesn't happen often even though we DO live together) and we were starting dinner, drinking some hot apple cider together and Natalie said, "It really doesn't get any better than this does it Amy?" and me being negative said "Well, I guess it could" and she boldly started saying how we need to enjoy where we are because if we are constantly worried about the next step in our lives then we can't enjoy the moments now. The cliche that comes to mind is "taking time to stop and smell the roses". I know, it's a horrible cliche, but it's true. And a great quote that goes along with that is:

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; 

remember that what you now have was once among the things 

you only hoped for."

A great way of thinking about it is that when you graduate high school, all you can think about is moving out, then when you move out, all you can think about is graduating college and starting your "grown-up job". In the middle of all of that I'm sure you're thinking about dating and such...your heart longs to find "that person". Well, you find someone...you start dating and it's perfect, everything you dreamed it would be (but of course it's not enough), you start thinking about when you will get engaged and get married because now that's ALL YOU WANT is just to be married, while at the same time you don't want to live with your rooomate anymore, you JUST want to buy a house of your own (because at this point you are in your "grown-up" job that you so badly wanted a couple years ago). So, now you're "happily" married and you've just bought a new house. You've been married a couple of years, but now ALL you want is children and of course you need a new car because you can't drive that 2 door sports car  anymore because kids can't fit in that!...I won't continue with the story because we all know how it goes....we are never completely happy and we all know that once we attain one level of what we think we want, we always want more...it's never enough, that's just life and our sinful nature I'm afraid. But what God is teaching me right now is really just to find contentment in where I am and more importantly in Him. He is going to give me what I NEED.  If we don't take time to enjoy the season in which we are in, we will miss it! We will miss out on SO many memories and fun things we could be doing RIGHT NOW and what God is teaching us RIGHT NOW because we're too worried about what's down the road or what we aren't getting. Trust me, I'm the world's worst about doing this, but I've realized that it's time for a change. I think I'm definitely going to try my best to take more time to stop and smell the roses because if I don't, I could miss one that smells REAL sweet! :) 

"But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." --Romans 8:25

Inspiration in the little things...

Last weekend I went to the race in Talladega with Jill, Kyle and Matthew. We had a really good time just hanging out and observing the "culture" around us because let me tell you, it is definitely a different culture of people at the races :)

Most of you who know me and know me well, know that I LOVE music (I'm sure I've mentioned that once or twice). I seem to find lots of inspiration in music. I have recently found a new artist that I love, Brandon Heath. I may be a little late finding him, but I love his music. There is a song of his called "Give Me Your Eyes" and the lyrics are phenomenal. Here they are:

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black tile
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Wasnt it far beyond my reach?
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
Theres a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
To ashamed to tell his wife
Hes out of work
Hes buying time
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus

Ive Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all alone

To me, this song proves that we just need to be more mindful that other people are going through tough times just like we are. I've come to realize that everyone has a story; everyone has a past, but if we all could learn to see each other through His eyes, even just a smidgen, we might have a little more compassion....a little more grace towards others. We have to learn to meet people where they are because we never know when we might be in a place hoping for someone to meet us...