Wow, I started this blog on August 24th of 2010! I must have been in about the 10th grade. So many things have changed in my life since then. I have grown so much and back in 2010 I would have never imagined that my life would be the way that it is now. Today is November 22nd, 2013 and I am a sophomore in college. I am finding myself hungering and thirsting for Christ more than I have ever hungered and thirsted for Him during my whole entire 19 years of being on this earth. There is literally a NEED that I have for Him that has been flowing out of me for the past week and a half. He has been truly working in and through me, and I see so many wonderful works that He has been doing in my life. Right now I am at the stage where He is clearing all of the seasonal people and distractions out of my life. At first I was feeling pretty lonely because I did not understand why the people I considered to be my friends were either turning their backs on me, or just choosing to be my friend when it was mostly convenient for them. And as an emotional being, I have a tendency to want to keep seasonal people in my life after they have already served their purpose, and as I continue to grow older, I have realized that is the WRONG thing to do. The Lord does not want us to allow seasonal people to linger in our lives when He has already used them to serve their purpose. And once that purpose has been served, it is our responsibility to let them go in order to enter into the next season in our lives.
I have also come notice that if we refuse to let go of the seasonal people in our lives, the Lord will find a way to loosen our grips until we finally reach the point where it hurts too much for us to keep holding on to those people. Regardless of how many times those people have hurt you, you will do all you can to look past the way they have been treating you. And the reason we tend to do this is because we love the person more than they will ever be able to comprehend. Yes, it is okay to love seasonal people, but it is important that you let go of them. Letting go does not mean you should not keep praying for them, but the key is to move on. Moving on and leaving those seasonal people behind is essential, because not everyone is going to be able to be present in the next season the Lord has for your life.
It amazes me how sometimes my emotions will seriously try to convince me that I NEED to have a certain person in my life, but for the past week and a half, the Lord has been reassuring me that He is ALL that I NEED! Nothing more and nothing less. We are always getting so caught up in our worldly needs, that we forget that God is truly all that we need. He is our provider and every good thing we have comes from Him. I am currently working on the area of contentment in my life and although, it is not easy, I am getting better at reminding myself to be grateful for what I do have instead of complaining about what I do not have. And I have also made it a point to constantly remind myself that what is for me is for me and what is for someone else is for them. Just as Paul writes in Philipians 4:11, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I am." (NIV)
The Lord created us all differently for a reason, and we all were provided with different gifts for a reason. So, let's stop worry about what Sally, Sue, John, and James are doing with their spiritual gifts and stop neglecting our own gifts! Be content in the season you're in and continue to focus on the prize which is the Lord Himself.
Just remember, if you don't have Christ, then you aren't living life!
-Jasmine Lester
