Troubled Waters

A few weeks ago, one of my good friends suggested that I write a post centered around "Trusting in God even when times are hard." 

I hadn't given the post much thought at all till yesterday during my bible time I randomly came across 2 Corinthians 12:9 (emphasis are my own) 

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 

Therefore, I will boast ALL the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.

For when I am weak, THEN I am strong."

Whenever you read "troubled waters" a certain time of your life probably came to mind. We've all experienced different levels of darkness, hardship, and hurt.

No matter what level you've endured, or maybe you're even going through something right now, we all know what it's like to feel hurt. 

As easy as it is to read 2 Corinthians 12:9 and think "Oh, I want to be like that when I go through hard times like Paul did!"

It is a very different thing to live it out.

I can't think of one difficult thing I've been through that I started out with the mindset of "This is making me stronger?! Awesome!!" 

No, they usually start out with loads of complaining, tears, confusion and anger.

Another verse, resembling 2 Corinthians 12, is James 1:1 where James writes: 

"Consider it pure JOY, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

Joy....Crazy, right? I've often read this verse in the "troubled waters" times of my life. 

I've thought many times how nearly impossible it is for me to feel "joy" in those times. 

Because when I think of the word "joy" I coincide it with happiness, laughter, smiling, etc.

But no, it wasn't the verse that was messed up. It was my definition of joy. 

Yes, I'm aware of how the dictionary defines joy. 

But I'm not talking in terms of dictionaries here. I'm talking in terms of my heart. I don't think of joy as just an emotion anymore. It's a lot more than that. As I wrote about in my very first post: joy is a choice.

I think that joy is the ability to endure all the pain knowing it is making me stronger. Trusting in God, not my own understanding. (See Proverbs 3:8) 

My eyes may be filled with tears and my heart screaming out with fear and confusion.

I may have not smiled in a month. But I will still.have.joy. 

It's okay to be hurt, confused, and angry. The world does that to us. 

But even when life is hard, and it hurts, and I don't understand why things are happening the way they are, I still have joy. I still have hope. A reason to keep pressing on. 

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18)

Is that verse alone not motivation enough to keep pressing on through your troubled waters? It is for me.

To quote the very popular Hillsong lyrics from Oceans:

"...In oceans deep
my faith will stand
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and you won't start now.

...Spirit lead me where my trust is without boarders. 
And my fail will be made stronger in the presence of my savior."

Now, look over those lyrics again and really think about them this time. No matter how many hundreds of times I play that song the lyrics never fail to touch my heart.

He has never failed and he won't.start.now.

Sometimes the storms are just going to knock me flat on my face. Coming out of each storm, I will never be the person that I was coming in.

I can let the storms of my life change me in two very different ways. 

I can let Satan use it to break me down and drown me. 

Or I can let God use it to make me stronger.
To draw me closer to Him. 

Above the troubled waters. 

Safe.

A Walk To Remember

If you know me then you probably started shaking your head as soon as you read the title to this post. 

A Walk To Remember

Although I'm not very fond of Nicholas Spark's other books/films, this one somehow managed to make it as my alltime favorite book AND movie.

I'm not much of a reader so I've only read the book once (and a half) but you don't even want to know the unhealthy amount of times I have watched the movie.

My friends don't want to watch it with me anymore when they come over because I quote the entire movie line for line; shouting the character's words before they do and looking around the room to see if my friends are impressed by my mad memorization skills. (They never are)

Yes, it is a sappy love story movie full of kisses, tears, and romance. 

BUT there's also a lot more to the story and the characters that draws me to it.

So here's why I like it:

Jamie Sullivan

Ah. Jamie, Jamie, Jamie.

Her character is my favorite. Not only the character she plays in the movie, but her character's character. 

Lol, get it? Her character as in the role she plays and also her moral character?? 

Okay, not funny... Moving on.

Jamie's character inspires me. She has something that a lot of girls today lack.

Confidence.

She is always unapologetically herself. 

No matter how people treat her because of it. She knows who she is, what she believes, and isn't afraid to voice her opinion when she sees fit.

She is different than everyone around her. Weird, even. 

But she doesn't care and hardly even notices, for her mind is always focused on the more important things in life. Her faith and loving others. 

When people hurl insults at her and do everything in their power to break her down, she replies with a simple smile and a nod of the head. Nothing phases her. 

The love Jamie has for everyone and everything around her shines through her constantly. She extends love to those who deserve it the least from her. 

She extracts joy in times of her life no one else could possibly understand how.

Jamie understands the true meaning of life. Something many 16 year old girls, myself included, often forget.

Landon Carter

The bad boy. The rebel. The out every night drinking, partying with his friends dude. The popular jerk. He goes to church, but never truly buys into the whole Christianity thing. 

That is till he meets Jamie Sullivan. 

He finds her very strange. But something about her intrigues him. 

Unpopular, plain, different than every girl he's ever known in every way. But somehow he still can't take his eyes off of her. 

He had been with other girls before, believing he was actually in love with them.

But he didn't truly understand what love really was till he fell in love with Jamie Sullivan. 

Then his whole life begins to change. His habits, his friends, his goals.

All because of one girl that saw him for who he really was and who he could be. Not how everyone else saw him. 

One of my favorite scenes from the movie is when he tells his mom 

"Jamie has faith me. She makes me want be different; better."

Through her, he too, realizes the true meaning of life. 

He takes his eyes off the worldly things all of his attention was on, and focuses on the important things. Faith, love, and the true beauty of life.

We've all heard that "one person can make a difference" 

But it's true.

Maybe you aren't changing the whole world, but you can change one person's world.

To me, that's worth it. That's what life is about. 

A Walk To Remember reflects that truth, and that's why I love it so much. 

I didn't want to give too much information about the movie and spoil it so if you haven't seen/read it yet then DO IT NOW.

Lastly, a quote by Emma Stone that I feel relates to Jamie's character perfectly. 

May you always be unapologetically yourself, stand up for your beliefs, and never change simply because you're treated differently. 

Who you are is who you are.

How people treat you, is who they are.

And that, my friend, doesn't concern you.