Leave Me There

During my time in college, I studied biology, focusing in botany. Although I do not currently do anything in that field, I still love it. (My favorite class was taxonomy, so don't go hiking with me if you don't want to hear a bunch of Latin names roll out of my mouth that sound like spells from Harry Potter.) Plants have a subtly beautiful way of revealing God's glory. Each little leaf goes through a complex process in order to grow. That whole process, every chloroplast, every strand of DNA that is duplicated is overseen and sustained by God. That in itself has blown my mind. Imagine also, that there are millions and millions of species of plants on the planet. Most of which are probably only known to the Lord, and exist only for the sole purpose of glorifying Him. In all my studies of botany, both technical and practical, there were some things that the Lord used to show me about what it means to be a Christian. 1. Pruning HURTS. Real bad. Pruning is often a necessi...

I'm not quite sure how to begin this blog post without simply saying the world needs Jesus. This tragedy that has struck France grieves the whole world. I eagerly look forward to the day that Christ comes back and wipes away every tear, and makes all things new. But this terrible time of suffering should not surprise us. Ever since sin entered the world, there has been suffering. And although I know that doesn't ease the hurt of the victims, we must acknowledge that the world will indeed be falling apart until the beginning of eternity. It seems harsh to say, but at least for myself, it is encouraging to know that all the suffering in the world is momentary in light of eternity. I pray that this is what any Christian holds on to, whether involved in the bombing or not. Last time I checked, there were 129 dead, 352 injured, and 99 at critical status. That's a steep number. Most of what I've heard regarding the situation is one of sympathy and fellowship. But it k...

Dear Self, For starters, you definetly aren't the person you thought you were going to be. You aren't wealthy and super intelligent; ordering around the people who pick on you now. But you're gentler. That hard exterior is going to have to go, and it will. The masks you paint on to keep people from hurting you? Sorry. People will still be sinful, and you'll still get hurt, so go ahead and get used to showing the tender side underneath. And guess what? People actually like it. You'll turn into a big crybaby in a couple years, but people like knowing that you care passionately about others. There's no joy in hurting alone, or having a frozen heart (by the way, Disney is still awesome). God will provide. He won't let you down. Yes you're still going to feel lonely. In fact, the hurt and heartbreak that plagues you now will be a drop in the bucket compared to things coming. But know that you survive high school and college.  You're 23 now, and the 20...