Yes, I am second and I am happy. You probably read the title and was like, "What is she talking about?" But, let me tell you, dear friend, when I finally found out that I was second and God was first, that was the best thing that could have happened to me. For a very long time, I use to put academics, myself, family/friends in that order, and God has always been somewhere either first or in the middle. I would always say out loud that God is first, but just like the saying goes "actions speak louder than words," my actions usually differed from what I said because I wasn't living with any fear for the Lord and His words.

On September 25th, 2017, I started my walk with Christ (I will tell you all about it in another article). Since then I started to develop a love for God, and I started to include Him in my plans. If you know me well, you probably know that I use a planner for my daily life and I used to even try to plan my life 5 years from now (without God of course). Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with having plans and goals, but not including God in those is definitely wrong. Not asking God for His will to be done is just as wrong.

After watching a video on "I am Second" from a daily devotion (check it out, here), I started to think about my past and realized that it is true indeed that I was first. Nope!!! I lied, my academic life was always first, and I was second, so God was third unless I was struggling and needed him. Oh yeah, when struggles come, I would always run to God.

Since I started my walk, I put God first and felt pretty good about it until I came back home and another stressful semester starts and I started to spend 12 or more hours on campus. I found myself skipping days on my daily " 10 small/big blessings" writing, I found myself not doing praise and worship every day, I found myself not including God in my calendar, I found myself putting academics first yet again. I still prayed, but I didn't intentionally spend intimate time with God. Then, I remembered that I AM SECOND (meaning that God is first, not academics). If I am second and He is first, why isn't He in my daily plans like before (meaning before the semester started).

So, I decided to make a change, because the 24 hours that I have in a day (not really have) are not mine, they are His, and if they are His and I have time for everything else, I must create the time for my God. I decided that I will still spend less time on my phone (that is a really hard one), less time engaging in things that are not for God's glory and spend more time with Him and go back to my 1-2 hours with God daily.

Those times usually include a mixture of praise and worship, praying, writing, reading the Bible, and/or just complete silence to let Him speak to me. When I look at 24 hours and 2 hours, to me it looks like it is not enough time for all the things He has done for me, but it is intentional, and our God loves that.

Today, dear friend, if you find yourself in this situation where you take your eyes off God(that happened to me 4 years ago) it is okay, you can get past this. The first thing to do is to not ignore it once you feel that void. Once you create a true intimate relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, you will feel that void once you are getting disconnected from God (at least that is how I felt).

The moment you feel it, TAKE ACTION because He wants you to come back home. Always remember that nothing can make you whole; not your job, not your boyfriend/girlfriend, your family, your social status, NOTHING can make you whole again but Jesus Christ. Seek him, spend intentional time with him and you will start to see and feel His unconditional love for you.

I really hope that this piece help you or a loved one.

Xoxo,

DD