2015. Another Year. Another Lesson.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever." Psalm 118:1

 

2015. The year a second grader showed me how to love life again.

2015. Thank you for showing me some of the darkest times of my life thus far. Thank you for teaching me that I am not alone in this world, and that God has been by my side the entire time even when I ignored His presence. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to see how His plan is far better for me than the one I have envisioned for myself. Thank you.

I haven't really posted anything to my blog since starting my first semester of my Junior year of college, so you might want to sit back and relax in order to enjoy the shortest explanation of all the remarkable things God has been doing in my life these last few months.

I changed my major. I, Alison Jiles, who had my life planned out since elementary school, changed my major. I actually started questioning my future after one of my clinical experiences in October, where I spent half a day observing students at Burwell. This was by far my favorite day of clinicals and the beginning to some of the toughest days of college so far. In November, I decided to pursue a degree in Psychology in hopes of becoming a Child Life Specialist. I have never been happier with my decision or my life.

Now on to my message for the day. I had a conversation the other day with a friend who has really been going through some tough times lately. This friend has one of the kindest souls and generous hearts that I have ever met, so clearly it bothered me that she was going through such a rough time. Last night I began my new devotional for the year that I got for Christmas and dove into a book that I have been dying to read, Crazy Love. Thankfully I was home alone because my Hillsong Pandora was blaring from my bedroom, and you would have thought I was conducting a worship service behind closed doors. I felt so empowered by God and so moved by the message that I felt the need to reach out to my friend in hopes of providing words of encouragement for the new year. Here are a few things I learned last night and an inside scoop into my conversation with my friend.

"We are programmed to focus on what we don't have, bombarded multiple times throughout the day with what we need to buy that will make us feel happier or sexier or more at peace. This dissatisfaction transfers over to our thinking about God. We forget that we already have everything we need in Him." -Crazy Love

Thanks be to God that I have learned (the hard way) that I cannot buy anything in this world that could make me happier than God's love. I can try countless times to buy a coffee from Starbucks in hopes that it will raise my spirits, but it won't compare to the worship session I can have in my car praising God and thanking him for all He has done for me.

"I don't reject God's kindness. If we receive God's approval by obeying laws, then Christ's death was pointless." Galatians 2:21

This is such a powerful verse that I needed to read at the start of a new year. I am such a rule follower 95% of the time, and I always thought that following the rules and obeying the laws were ways of seeking God's approval. Then I read this...

"The truth about God's grace and your salvation is that you don't need to keep any rules to be saved or to keep yourself saved, but you love him because of what he's done for you And out of that love flows your obedience to his Word." -Devotions for the God Girl

The author goes on to say how we cannot obey the law and follow the rules on our own. God gives us the power through the Holy Spirit, and by living according to the spirit each day we will begin to transform into the image of Christ. Doesn't it make you feel so relieved to know that God does not expect you to conquer this world on your own? He tells us that we will need Him, but it is in our hands to choose whether we will accept His love and guidance.

I shared with my friend the understanding of how difficult life can get. Everyone won't always agree with what we think, and sometimes others may hurt us intentionally or by mistake. It is hard to recover from the pain, but I take joy in reminding myself of the love God has for me and the love He intends for me to share with others. I've chosen to be thankful for all that I have and not to dwell on the things that I do not because like I just said, they are "things." I have spent too much time in my life being materialistic, and this past year has shown me how the little things are not what make me happy. Having a relationship with God and getting the opportunity to speak with Him throughout each and every day is such a blessing that I have taken for granted for so long. Here's to a new year of truly enjoying each day I am given by the man who paid it all to give it to us.

Take a second to think about all the things that went wrong in 2015 and ask yourself if you reached out to God during any of those times. I encourage you to watch the video below and listen to Housefires perform "Good Good Father." It is possibly one of my favorite worship songs, and I cannot help but smile and thank God for loving me the way He does even when at times I may not be able to love myself.

With Love & Laughter,
Alison