At the beginning of almost every post, I say something along the lines of, "wow, it has been a while." Well, that's what I feel like writing. So yeah... I really wish I could be like, Now is the time I will post an entry EVERY DAY! YEEAAHH!
Let's be real. It is pretty likely that writing in here every day is not going to happen. I just go through spurts where I think about posting something on here, then at the last minute decide not to. I have my reasons. Sometimes I decide it is a little TMI for the world wide web, but most of the time I just forget.
If you are reading this, chances are you saw the link in my Facebook profile. I'm not even sure this will pop up in a search. Meh.
Now that I have the tail-between-my-legs introduction over with, it is time for me to share some things that have popped into my mind recently. I'm going to talk about being thankful. Yeah yeah yeah, I know. So cliché. Just hear me out. You're already here, right?
All of us have heard that phrase, "count your blessings!" many times in our lives. As I was venting to one of my friends about the petty things I tend to get worked up over, something happened. I had this strange, supernatural moment where my mind was overwhelmed with all these wonderful blessings I've been given by grace. It was crazy. Call it the Holy Spirit, someone's prayers being answered, or what- suddenly God reminded me of all these wonderful things on earth He has given out of grace.
Literally, within seconds I felt the petty burdens lift away. Here is what is interesting to me. For those of us who have experienced a huge transformation through Christ, we can pretty much agree that we believe things like family, shelter, food, etc. are things we should be thankful to God for providing for us. Agreed? Ok...
There is a huge debate between whether or not we choose God or God predestines whom He will choose. I am NOT going there (I'm too afraid to mention anything about that on here, ever), but here's what I will say. There was something supernatural about God intervening in my heart. The gritty, messy, moody Mari was getting increasingly worked up the more I complained, but for some reason God decided to stop me and soften my heart. If I am to assume that some unknown amount of goodness inside me existed without the intervention of God, is there really a God? What is the point of God's goodness when it is "inside" us without Him? How much good to we have? What is enough? It really is one or the other, people.
God is good. He is everything good. Only through the Holy Spirit's intervention into my heart am I saved, granted peace, humbled, and given salvation.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not of works, lest anyone should boast." -Romans 6:23
Here is another point. That verse I just wrote? I've had that memorized since I was 12 because I had to learn it for Awanas. I chose to memorize that verse. Even though I decided and made the effort to memorize the verse and get a nice shiny pin on my Awanas uniform, that does not mean God says, "Ok! Great job memorizing verses, Mari. I'm throwin' some peace your way." It is quite the opposite. I'm reading the verse I just typed from memory, and I am so ashamed to admit to you that I have felt self-righteous because, hey, I can recite many parts of the Bible from memory. Look how spiritual I am! The mentality I just mentioned is a complete contradiction to the verse itself! See? I'm pretty awful. No goodness in me, even if I tried.
Ok, so now what? Do I just sit back and do whatever I want since it's not up to me? No. Love Jesus and praise Him for giving you everything you have, whether it be emotional, spiritual, or physical blessings. Get to know this God that loves you. Praise Him for giving you the ability to love and to praise. All good is from God.
God has changed me. I really hope He can do the same for you.
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Monday, August 15, 2011
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Praying for Peace
I want to post about Japan because it was amazing, but before I do I feel compelled to write about a recent event on the campus of UT-Austin. A student ran around campus with an AK-47 shooting random shots (thankfully without actually shooting anyone), before killing himself on the 6th floor of the Perry Castañeda Library (PCL). As a staffer/student who has pretty much been around UT since 2003 (I feel old), I always wondered at the back of my mind the possibility of a gunman opening fire on campus. With a student population of 50,000, it seemed possible there could be just one that would do something like that.
On the first Wednesday of every month at 11:50 a.m. the school conducts a siren test throughout the whole campus. The sound is so eerie and occasionally creates images of a disgruntled student causing tragedy on campus.
Sadly, on September 28th- a Tuesday, the sirens went off and everyone began receiving text messages alerting them a gunman was on campus and to stay put. After a while, the UT community was told the student had shot himself.
The incident has made me think about society's general perception of mental illnesses and the importance of getting help. I use the word general because I know I'm making a really broad generalization, but in my experience it seems like people associate a stigma with mental illnesses. I'm aware that plenty of pharmaceutical companies are spending millions of dollars trying to get people who may not really have a mental illness to purchase their products. I understand there are people who think taking a "happy pill" will fix their problems. Still, there are people who have a genetic predisposition to mental illness. Sometimes the genes never get expressed, but other times, whether it be environmental factors or whatever else, people suffer.
My heart breaks for this student who resorted to suicide to finish whatever torment he was experiencing. I imagine his friends and family are asking themselves what they could have done to prevent this from happening. I did not know this student, but I really wish that at some point he could have received psychiatric help, some sort of counseling, some sort of comfort that would help him make it another day.
On the first Wednesday of every month at 11:50 a.m. the school conducts a siren test throughout the whole campus. The sound is so eerie and occasionally creates images of a disgruntled student causing tragedy on campus.
Sadly, on September 28th- a Tuesday, the sirens went off and everyone began receiving text messages alerting them a gunman was on campus and to stay put. After a while, the UT community was told the student had shot himself.
The incident has made me think about society's general perception of mental illnesses and the importance of getting help. I use the word general because I know I'm making a really broad generalization, but in my experience it seems like people associate a stigma with mental illnesses. I'm aware that plenty of pharmaceutical companies are spending millions of dollars trying to get people who may not really have a mental illness to purchase their products. I understand there are people who think taking a "happy pill" will fix their problems. Still, there are people who have a genetic predisposition to mental illness. Sometimes the genes never get expressed, but other times, whether it be environmental factors or whatever else, people suffer.
My heart breaks for this student who resorted to suicide to finish whatever torment he was experiencing. I imagine his friends and family are asking themselves what they could have done to prevent this from happening. I did not know this student, but I really wish that at some point he could have received psychiatric help, some sort of counseling, some sort of comfort that would help him make it another day.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
A Hero From Georgia
I am sure by now everyone has seen and heard the news about the Olympic athlete from Georgia, Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died after crashing his sled during a training run on the luge. I hear about tragic accidents, homicides, etc. every day on the news, but this situation is hitting me so hard, and I can't get over it. I am so overcome with sadness for his country and his family. Imagine training as hard as humanly possible to represent your country in the Olympics! Especially considering he was representing such a small country, he and his family had to be infinitely proud of him. I can't imagine the pride and excitement that a person feels when they get to compete in the Olympics.
While I am overcome with grief for Kumaritashvili's family, I can not help but feel a bit disgusted by the media's response to this tragedy. When I decided to write about this, I was unable to spell Nodar's name off the top of my head (if you can then I'm very impressed!). In an effort to find out how to spell his name, and perhaps link a news story in case anyone had not read about it, I googled "Olympics death." I found tons of news stories on the accident, but what I couldn't find was a simple news article without videos. ALL the articles had "VIDEO" in the headline- the video that highlights Nodar's horrible crash, showing in slow motion his delicate body slamming into the steel poles at 90 miles per hour. Also piled into the articles were zoomed in shots of the paramedics trying to revive him. The pictures showed his lifeless face, laced with blood.
How is this dignified? How does this happen? Do we have such a curious fascination with death- so much to the point where we will shamelessly document in great detail the final moments of this precious life? How on earth must his family feel? How incredibly horrible to see the video replayed over and over! If this happened to ANYONE I loved and cared about, I think I would be just as much traumatized by the sensationalist journalism, perversion, and greed of humanity as I would be about the death itself. Obviously, me posting this blog won't take away the millions of videos and pictures of this special human being's life being taken away. I can only hope that in the future this trend of disrespectful journalism doesn't continue. I understand our first amendment rights, but seriously out of respect for the Kumaritashvili family I feel that the press as a whole crossed the line.
Needless to say, I will not be posting any link to news stories regarding Nodar Kumaritashvili's death. I will continue to pray for his family, in hopes that they can find comfort, resolve, and meaning in this terrible tragedy. RIP, Nodar- my heart aches for you and your family :-(
While I am overcome with grief for Kumaritashvili's family, I can not help but feel a bit disgusted by the media's response to this tragedy. When I decided to write about this, I was unable to spell Nodar's name off the top of my head (if you can then I'm very impressed!). In an effort to find out how to spell his name, and perhaps link a news story in case anyone had not read about it, I googled "Olympics death." I found tons of news stories on the accident, but what I couldn't find was a simple news article without videos. ALL the articles had "VIDEO" in the headline- the video that highlights Nodar's horrible crash, showing in slow motion his delicate body slamming into the steel poles at 90 miles per hour. Also piled into the articles were zoomed in shots of the paramedics trying to revive him. The pictures showed his lifeless face, laced with blood.
How is this dignified? How does this happen? Do we have such a curious fascination with death- so much to the point where we will shamelessly document in great detail the final moments of this precious life? How on earth must his family feel? How incredibly horrible to see the video replayed over and over! If this happened to ANYONE I loved and cared about, I think I would be just as much traumatized by the sensationalist journalism, perversion, and greed of humanity as I would be about the death itself. Obviously, me posting this blog won't take away the millions of videos and pictures of this special human being's life being taken away. I can only hope that in the future this trend of disrespectful journalism doesn't continue. I understand our first amendment rights, but seriously out of respect for the Kumaritashvili family I feel that the press as a whole crossed the line.
Needless to say, I will not be posting any link to news stories regarding Nodar Kumaritashvili's death. I will continue to pray for his family, in hopes that they can find comfort, resolve, and meaning in this terrible tragedy. RIP, Nodar- my heart aches for you and your family :-(
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