Maybe you’re a short two-hour ride from home, or maybe you're 10. Maybe you’re so far, you have to fly home indefinitely. You miss your friends, your family, your pets - you miss your bed, your car, and the familiarity of home. Your favorite places to eat, adventure, and your haven. Maybe you’re at school, and you realize you’ve made mistakes you can’t take back, wishing you could redo the whole, “clean slate,” aspect that this new venture gave you. Put Jesus on the back burner of your life, too caught up in sin you believe your undeserving, when this is when he is still steadfast in his love for you. Perhaps you failed a test or two, feeling discouraged and wondering how to come back. you’re caught up in keeping up with all the other girls with their clothes, their Instagram’s, and who they are and striving to be them- losing yourself. Take a step back, breathe, and know you’re understood.
We all make mistakes, no matter what age, no matter what degree, no one is perfect. As humans, we judge- it’s normal, and a universal trait we all share. The mistakes you make shape your reputation and how people perceive you- however, it doesn’t define you. Your constantly able to reinvent yourself, how people see you, and who you want to be. So don’t stress- if you don’t like who you are and how people see you, live your life differently, making choices that bring you joy- because the ones you’re making then aren’t achieving that.
People who associate with a religion, commonly believe that there are certain rules you must follow to uphold that religion and be worthy of love and a full life from God. However, God loves you when you’re broken. He loves you, despite your flaws, despite your mistakes and disobeying him and the outline has made on how you should construct your life. However, the story goes- God sent his one and only perfect son, to save us- sinned and broken, he loves us abundantly. He came to save the sinners who make the same mistake after repenting- looking at sins from a bird’s eye view, no matter how many, he wipes them away. So when you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or unloved- remember to who you belong and the abundant love he has for you.
If you haven’t pulled an all-nighter, you will- it’s a weekly aspect all college students take part in. or maybe you’ve been studying for weeks for your exam, and you believe you’re right there- you know it inside and out, and your confident that you’re getting an A. But, when your grade is finally posted, it’s not. It’s a C; average, just squeezing by. Or, you failed it - somehow, you didn’t get it, despite how much you studied. Don’t be discouraged, because in your class of 10 or 300, someone else did too. Someone came back from that test and did better on the next one. But you must make the decision to make a change, and work harder than maybe you did in high school- not everything will come naturally, as it once did. But, you were accepted into the school- they critiqued the aspects of your application and transcript maliciously, and decided that you would be a wonderful member of their class, academically prepared to succeed there. So don’t worry, they believe in you, along with many others- you just have too.
One of the biggest problems we face with social media is comparing our lives to others. We judge what they wear, what they look like, what vacations they go on... and believe we don’t measure up. We begin to shape our lives to look like theirs, becoming something we’re not- it’s a false, half reality, living through a screen. You are who you are- you look the way you look, and live the life you live, and indulge yourself in it- don’t post moments where you were unhappy, but the photo looked good. Don’t change your appearance to appeal to others, or what you do with your life to create yourself into something you’re not. Everyone with an Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, any form of social media has felt as if they fell short and come to define themselves through this feeling and their posts. stop. One life you live, don’t live it through a screen or defining yourself through an app. Choose to live your life boldly, how you wish too- don’t worry about how it looks to others. Choose JOY.
So, take a moment and breathe. You’re more than your mistakes, and the grade you got on a test doesn’t define you. God is too good to be on the backburner - do life with him. Your life on social media shouldn’t change you into something you’re not. Maybe you feel as if you’re missing out, and that this idea of college is supposed to be the best four years of your life- it is, but there are always lows. Find Joy in your life, and rid of all the anxious aspects- Joy, and greater things lie ahead than the bad things that have no bearing on who you are and what you do.
