Keep Breathing

You know that thing that's really bothering you right now? That thing you can't get off your mind? That worry that won't leave your heart and mind alone? Let it go. Just let the thought go. Right now. Just for a second. And breathe. Breathe in...and out.  And pray:  "Lord, if I can let this go for that one second by my own actions, I know that with YOUR help, I can let it go completely."

Peace. Nobody really has much of it anymore. Why? Well, we allow the constant stream of everyday problems along with the mind boggling amount of meaningless social media to attack us every waking moment.  And we let ourselves seep in it. Enjoy it even . Someone has a problem? If we don't know them well, we might talk to other people about it, gossiping or just searching for answers. If we do know them well, we might not talk about it much...if you're a fellow introvert with the author, you might just let the worry sit in your mind and weigh you down. Or you might speak about it to other people, but then it's weighing them down along with you.

No one really tries to pray these days. No one really wants silence. Because both are scary.
If you pray, God might ask you change. If you sit in silence, you might figure out that answer about something that you've really been hoping to avoid.

Dwelling on problems and wallowing in that grief or anxiety is WAY easier than doing what God might be calling you to do to actually DEAL with that problem. Allowing distractions into your life also helps you miss what you're supposed to be seeing.
If it's a problem with another person, it's easier to grumble about it than to actually recognize that you're called to treat that person like Christ too. If you're trying to make a decision, you're not going to get an answer by mass texting your whole contact list. I promise. At the end of the day, you need silence to pray and prayer to hear.

It's so hard to remember but God really does have bigger and better things in store for us than we could ever imagine. He gives us the peace and hope we're craving, if we'll just ask.
So take some time out before this whole school years starts up...and turn off the phone, sign out of facebook, stop dwelling on your problems and hoping it will give you answers or consolement. Give it all up to God in the silence. Because His story for you is a beautiful one. But if you drown out the plot with constant chatter, worries, technology and noise, you'll miss the whole section of the plot that you're supposed to be in.

And yes this is a cheesy post, brought to you by the fact I am leaving for my sophomore year in 8 days and nostalgia about leaving has officially hit. ;)

He has a plan. Keep breathing, keep smiling, and keep praying.

Blessings,
~Paula

"Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts." -Psalm 85:8

"But all that I know is I'm breathing.
All I can do is keep breathing.All we can do is keep breathing now." 
~Ingrid Michaelson

Sleep

      It’s 1am and I probably should have gone to sleep hours ago. I don’t really care though. I like staying up late; it makes it seem as if I have all the time I could ever ask for. The tired feeling behind my eyes will come soon enough, and I’ll turn off the bright computer screen. My head will hit the pillow and then I’ll wake up and daylight will shine through my windows. In the blink of an eye, my time will have gone by faster than a comet soaring through space.

      When I have my freshman year of college starting in 16 days, it  makes me bitter that we must waste so much time that we’re given in a perfectly useless unconsciousness. We’re not given an option mind you; we must. We need sleep, or we die. It almost seems as if God woke up on the wrong side of the bed one morning before he created the universe and thought about all the ways He could spite the pre-college student desperately seeking more time.  Numero uno on that list: Cut the time they have left with everyone and everything they know in half because their bodies require that they drool on a pillow and turn off their brain for 9 hours.

      Of course I realize if God really wanted to spite us He would have had lots more interesting options than making us sleep. And I am also aware that God does not want to spite us.  But it leaves me wondering, why on earth did He give us sleep? I guess it is a type of escape we get to enjoy if things are going wrong. But with my moving day looming closer and closer, I really just want that time back. But God knows what He’s about, so I’ll trust Him to give me enough time to do everything I need to do in the time that I have left, regardless of how much shut-eye I get.

And now I feel that feeling behind my eyes.

Perhaps one reason God made sleep was to keep my worries at bay, to give them a rest.

Thanks God for little things.

   
 Sleep well and trust in Him.

      Pax,

      ~Paula(:

P.S. I really do love sleep, don’t get me wrong. I just love time even more right now.

Countdown until leaving day: 12

Countdown until orientation: 16