Easter, it is the time of year when we are reminded of Christ’s death and resurrection. We remember that He died on the cross for our sins. The sins we committed last year, last week, last month, yesterday, today, and the sins we have yet to commit tomorrow and all the days after that.
Today as I was painting in my uncle’s shop, he turned on the radio before going outside so I would have some entertainment. Immediately Christian music blared throughout and a sense of peace overwhelmed me. I started to dance around the shelf I was working on and sing along. Happiness and the Holy Spirit came over me. A few minutes after my dancing ended, I stopped and prayed. I prayed for myself, my family, my friends, and the person who just a few weeks ago I thought would be next to me for years to come. I prayed that our hearts would once again be captured by Him and that we would be willing to obey Him no matter what is commanded of us. At the end of my prayer, I asked forgiveness because I need it more than I’m willing to admit. I have sinned time and time again. There have been times when I have asked for forgiveness without ever really meaning it. Today, however, it was real. When I was asking for forgiveness I truly meant it. I was soon reminded of a song, “Should’ve Been Me,” by Citizen Way. The first part of the chorus goes, “Should’ve been me/Should’ve been us/Should’ve been there hanging on a cross.” These simple lines remind me of how fortunate we are that God was willing to send his only son to die on the cross for our sins so we could be with Him in heaven for eternity. We should be the ones hanging on the cross. We should be the one’s dying for our sins, but we aren’t. So this Easter, remember that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done, your sins are forgiven if you simply believe in the love and grace of Jesus Christ.
0 Comments
Waking up this morning I felt a sense of peace. I was in no rush to go anywhere and my aunt was the only person awake. I took my time waking up and allowed myself time to enjoy the quiet.
Eventually I made my way into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. As I was reaching for a glass, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My hair was greasy and tangled. My makeup was smudged. My clothes were dirty and leftover from the night before. I looked terrible, but you know what? I felt truly happy. Last night my three cousins and I had a girl’s night. We laughed, cried, and confessed well into the morning hours. It was a wonderful feeling to just let it all out. We didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings or having what we said repeated. It was simply a time to speak without judgement. This weekend was exactly what I needed. It provided excitement and family time. It kept me away from my town. It gave me time to simply be happy and not worry that someone was going to judge me for how I felt. It provided me with new memories that only involved people who truly care about me. It provided me with a chance to be happy. I’m sitting here in the coffee shop in the same chair I have been in for the past four hours. I’ve written multiple scholarship essays in this time and now simply want to write for fun. When I blog, I don’t plan what I’m going to say; I just start typing. Looking up at the question on the coffee shop blackboard it reads, “Who is your best friend and where did you meet?” There are a variety of answers. Some people met while at a rest stop while others have been lifelong friends.
Personally, I met my best friend while I was in kindergarten. One day we were playing house and decided we each needed to pick out our birthday. I’m not sure why we felt the need to have birthdays, but I’m glad that our ridiculous kindergarten selves felt the need that having a birthday in an imaginary game of house was important. Elle and I quickly learned that our birthdays were right next to each other. My birthday is on July 30th while her birthday is on July 31st. After we figured this out, we decided that we needed to be best friends. Thirteen years later I can honestly say that our decision to be best friends that day was one of the best decisions of my life. Throughout the years we have not always agreed on everything and now as we continue to grow we find even more things we don’t agree on. At the end of the day, however, I can confidently call her my best friend. She is encouraging and compassionate. She seeks to serve the Lord with her whole heart and pushes me to do the same. This fall as we head off to college, I can’t wait to see how our friendship will grow. Right now I’m sitting on our trampoline with the urge to write, but I have no idea what I what to write about. I’m watching the people walking on the street behind our house through the trees. A couple has just walked by with their dog and a mother is pushing a stroller with the dog running slightly ahead of her. My music is playing and the sun is preparing to set. The noise of a lawnmower is present in the background and there is a slight breeze in the air. A dog is barking and there is the occasional sound of a car driving by. Every few minutes I will lay back and look up at the sky to think about my day.
I started my morning off by attending class for an hour and a half. After that I made a quick run to the grocery store and came home to fit in a workout before heading to an appointment. I spent my afternoon sitting in the coffee shop again, just like yesterday. I had planned on meeting someone, but decided to go two hours early to write and finish a scholarship application. Instead, I found myself staring out the window and thinking about the changes coming up in the next few months. As more and more people I knew drove by, I began to realize that life will never be like it is right now. That reality hit me even harder as all of a sudden two of my friends walked in and we sat down together to talk. One friend was preparing for a spring musical audition and I somewhat jokingly said I would try out for it. He of course thought that auditioning was a fantastic idea, and that my other friend should also try out with me. I haven’t been in vocal since sixth grade and have been in one play when I was a third grader in which I only had to say, “Oh my tooth really hurts!” I’m not sure how in the world I could ever be in a musical, but a part of me wants to do it. After all, I will never again have the chance to be in a musical or play with the people I have grown up with. Right now is my only chance. This year marks the end of many things in my life, such as swimming and tennis. However, it also marks the beginning of college and life away from home for me. In only a few short months, I will no longer be able to walk into a coffee shop and see people that have known me since I was in my awkward middle school years and even the years before that. I will no longer be able to look out the window and see multiple people I have grown with over the years moving about blissfully unaware of the people around them. My best friend for the past thirteen years will no longer be only ten minutes away. For some of the things that I have always been scared of, right now is my last chance. So maybe I should put my fear aside and just go for it. After all when right now only lasts for a few more moments, why not? There are many times in life when you just need a break, a break from your family, your town, and your everyday routine. This break can last for varying amounts of time and can come in many different forms. Maybe for you, a break just means spending a few hours at your local coffee shop or maybe it means heading to a tropical location. Personally, I already spend lots of time at the coffee shop and don’t have the funds or independence to go on vacation. Instead my breaks come in the form of spending hours driving around in the middle of the night. It may sound silly, but where I live you can jump onto the highway and drive for miles without seeing a single soul. You can get lost on back roads and visit towns with less than one hundred residents if you’re willing to just take a little time.
Last night I spent hours driving around and exploring towns I never knew existed. My friend and I headed out with the intention to go out to an old bridge in the middle of the country. At night it is truly beautiful and peaceful to be out there with only the sound of nature in the background. The stars are much more vibrant and the only light is from the occasional fisher trying to spot a gar. Upon driving out there, we came up to the minimum maintenance road that would lead us to the bridge and discovered that we would not be able to make it out due to the mud. Instead we turned around and headed to some other small towns. At one point in the night we ended up along the river on a gravel road, hoping it would lead us back to the state highway. Unfortunately, due to the desolate location and never-ending winding road we decided that it was safer to turn around and find the county highway again. Once we found the highway we opted to head in the opposite direction we came from and visit a nearby town we usually just drive through on our way to the interstate. Even in the moments of terror we experienced, we were having fun. We were taking a break and having an adventure of our own. Of course, when you’re out in the middle of the night, there comes a point when you need food. Sure, we could’ve chosen to drive through our towns McDonald’s, but we didn’t. We headed to the truck stop. A spot for late night food, fun, and cinnamon roll French toast. It’s a place I used to overlook, but once you experience the friendly atmosphere of the staff and the food, you never forget. It’s that place in town where you can come and feel welcomed at any hour. Eventually our fun came to an end and my friend decided to head home to sleep. Honestly, I probably should’ve done the same thing, but I didn’t. I soon found myself at another friend’s home and was standing in her kitchen talking with her and her dad. We decided to drive around for a bit, this time with me as the passenger. As we drove, we talked, sang, and reminisced. Eventually we headed back to her place for a bit, but decided that we would head out to take a few quick pictures just for fun. Parked in the middle of a gravel road with the headlights from the car shining on us and the phone propped up on the car hood we took bad pictures and laughed. It may have only lasted a couple of minutes, but once again it was fun. It was a break and an adventure. When I finally fell asleep, it was almost 4:30 A.M. and I was exhausted. My night was long and filled with adventure, but it provided me with just the break I needed to once again feel better. The back roads brought peace to me, even when they proved to be just a little scarier than we originally thought. The bad pictures, reminded me that I am most beautiful when I am being silly and laughing without a care in the world. So don’t be afraid to take a break, find a back road, and take a few bad pictures, it might remind you who you truly are. For as long as I can remember I've always had the unceasing desire to travel. I've dreamed of living in foreign countries and immersing myself in other cultures. It is a desire that lately has been growing greater by the day. I often find myself wanting to go on an adventure at the most inconvenient times and becoming rather down when I can't.
I spend my time in class planning trips and thinking about how happy I would be if I could only travel and write. It's a dream that my parent's and family would simply laugh about. Travel and write, where is that ever going to take me in life? Truthfully, I don't know and that's okay. What is the point of life if you don't live in some uncertainty? I have many friends who envy my "certainty" in life. I applied to one college and was soon accepted. Before the first month of this school year, I was already confirmed at that college and had my majors decided. There were schools I wanted to tour, but never was given the chance to because they were considered to be too far away or a ridiculous idea. You could say I never really decided I just simply picked a school so I didn't have to work so hard to decided later on. Now I'm ready to live in uncertainty. I no longer am sure where I will be attending school next fall and don't know if I will be changing my major. I have decided to live for adventure and not to worry when life becomes uncertain, after all life is meant to be an adventure. One day I will travel and one day adventures to exotic places at the drop of a hat will no longer be a problem. One day I will prove all the people who laughed at me and thought I couldn't make it wrong. Until that day I will sit here in my bed writing and dreaming of the day when one day is today. |
AuthorHello everyone, I'm Bri! Here you can find me writing about life in order to help provide you with encouragement and hope. Want to find out more about me? Go visit my "About Me" page! Happy reading! Archives
April 2017
|