I was in a very bad place – physically, emotionally, and mentally. I was eating unhealthy foods and partying more than I should have been. I let people into my life that I knew were not the kind of people I wanted to be around, but I thought hanging out with them was better than being alone. I was disrespectful. I was argumentative. I was quick tempered. I was not doing as well in school as I should have been doing. I preferred to watch television or go out with friends instead of studying and working on myself. I even gave up on some goals that I had set out for myself.

To put it simply: I was not a good person.

I hated the person I had become but I continued on because I was completely lost in the world as to what my future entailed.

I thought I was alone. But I wasn't!

My family convinced me to attend a church service a while ago and my whole life has changed since then. I felt like God was talking directly into my soul through the pastor's sermons. The first few sermons I attended talked about putting our faith in God and working on our faith every day to keep building it up. They were also about trusting God and what he had planned for us.

A couple passages really resonated with me:

Luke 15:3-7 – God left the 99 to find me and bring me back to grow my faith

Isiah 60:22 – God is in control and will make things happen in my life that need to be done

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – God has a plan for me and everything will happen at its appointed time.

Proverbs 3:5-8 – Trust in God completely because he knows what is best for me.

The common theme? CONTROL. I like to be the one in control of myself and my life. I love to create plans and lists that I can put a checkmark next to when I complete them. However, I realize I don't have all the answers and I need to rely more on God because he does have a plan for me and knows what is best.

I am not where I want to be and still need to work on improving myself, but it is amazing to have God beside me to guide me along the way to become a better person.