Happiness <3 Please take the time to read :)
by Kristen Leah on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 11:06am
In the last few months I have been faced with situations and people who have made me really turn to my faith and God. So I got to thinking what the true meaning of happiness is and what some people are fooled to think it is.
This past year has tested my faith a lot and has brought me closer to God. You can go both ways in hard times I think, either closer to God or further away from him. A lot of the time when something bad happens in our lives we tend to think why is God doing this to me? Rather than thinking God is doing this because he loves and trusts me so much that he knows I can get through it and knows how strong I am.
I have really thought about peoples misconceptions about happiness and joy lately. Many girls I have known have turned to guys for fulfillment, they end up losing friends, values, and themselves in the process. While someone special to share our lives with will add to our happiness, if we do not have God and his grace in our lives it is only a substitute for the love we can really experience. I will admit it took me some growing up to do to realize that God should be at the center of a relationship. So many girls are rushed to get married or move in, why? If someone loves you they will love you no matter what. We do not realize we have our whole lives ahead of us to get married, move in and have kids, enjoy it while it lasts. Now, I am by no means saying I am perfect, lord knows I am far from it, but I am just voicing some conclusions I have come to in the last few months.
Someone said to me about two months ago, how can you say that you have changed in a month? I bit my tongue and let it go rather than arguing about it, because it really is better to let things go unsaid rather than cause an argument. What I wanted to say was, I have God in my life and with him, anything is possible. But this person did not quite understand me when I talked about God and his grace so it was hard to explain that. I guess the point I am getting at is I have realized that with God my life is full, whether I have a boyfriend, or a fancy house, or a record deal (hopefully someday!), or millions of dollars, those things do not matter when put into perspective.
My favorite quote is, "When I stand before God at the end of my life I hope that I can say I used every talent you gave me." God has given each of us a talent, a gift. I love to sing and play music, and I realize that being a big pop star is not the important thing, it is using my gift to do good and possibly inspire people in the process. God doesn't give us our talents and passions to be wasted. Whether our passion be to sing, cook, collect coins, or play football, we should take those things and use them the best way we can. I do not know whether or not I will one day get a record deal but I trust that the Lord will guide me in whichever way I should go, and whats best for me.
Before all of this I thought being a famous singer and actress would be great, money, fame, perks. But now I realize thats not what its about, its about being happy, and living life as the best person you can be.
I met someone who seemed like a great person about a year ago, good christian, hard worker, and all of that good stuff. They would preach to me about how to be a good christian and live through God and they went to church religiously. As time progressed I noticed this person was obsessed with work and making millions of dollars. They were willing to sacrifice people around them to get to where they wanted to be. It was sad to say the least but it really taught me the value of the people around me and that no dream or job should never come before those I love. I have realize that just because a person goes to church five days a week doesn't make them a christian, its the way they act outside of that sanctuary that matters.
I claimed to be a christian for many years because I went to church every Sunday, even on Saturdays, but throughout the week I was not living the way God intended for me to. I did not have a strong relationship with God and that is what I have found really matters. When God is working through you things do not seem so bad. When you help others you are rewarded ten fold in your heart. We should never judge others, only God can do that. I know it is easier said than done but who are we really judging when we point fingers at other people. Do we first look at ourselves and our lives, now, if you are the second coming of Jesus himself then you can claim to be perfect and judge other people but I dont think thats the case :) . Just because people do not do things the way we do them or want them to be done does not give us the right to make them feel miserable or point fingers at them. Often times we are so focused on other people and their faults because we are too afraid to see our own. But the Lord knows we make mistakes and he forgives us for all of those, so why is it so hard for us to forgive ourselves and others? There are people cursing at God and turning away from him, yet, he still loves them unconditionally, how can that be?
If we put God before all else in our lives we will see his grace and feel it as well. We have to thank God even in the bad times to appreciate the good, wake up every morning and thank him for the things you have. I heard a story about a girl who thanked God every time something good happened to her, and prayed to him every time something bad happened. Her life was going badly so she started to pray to God to help her and all of these wonderful things started happening, then when her life got better, she stopped. Things started to get bad again and she said "God, why are you doing this to me?" and he responded "Because you stopped thanking me" ....When I heard that story it really clicked, I made it a point to thank God everyday, even when its really hard. We have to have a little rain to enjoy the sunshine :)
In recent months I have really thought about all of this, I had a situation with a very negative person in my life, had a miserable job, then my dad lost his job for the second time, then my grandmother passed away. As all of these things happened you would think I would be more and more miserable, but as these things happened I found that I was better able to make sense of them and felt God more in my heart then ever. I have realized that God gives me all of these hard times to make me appreciate the good times more, and to really make me a stronger and better person. I am so thankful that he has found my heart the way he has and is working through me. I realize that everyday is a blessing and we should thank the Lord for everything, its because of him that we have been given the things we have.
On a final note my priest Fr. Michael gave a sermon on Sunday, and said, he went to a church where there was a list of people to pray for, I believe it was about six pages. All of these were students taking final exams, he told us that we should pray to God for everything whether it be to do well on a final exam or to help a relative who is sick. God wants us to turn to him and sometimes he doesnt answer our prayers, but its not because he doesnt hear them its because maybe what we are praying for is not something we need at that time, or are ready for. This really struck a chord with me, it makes so much sense, often times we think God is ignoring us when he is really doing the opposite, he is doing whats best for us.
Sorry that this was so incredibly long :)
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart," Psalm 37:4.
This past year has tested my faith a lot and has brought me closer to God. You can go both ways in hard times I think, either closer to God or further away from him. A lot of the time when something bad happens in our lives we tend to think why is God doing this to me? Rather than thinking God is doing this because he loves and trusts me so much that he knows I can get through it and knows how strong I am.
I have really thought about peoples misconceptions about happiness and joy lately. Many girls I have known have turned to guys for fulfillment, they end up losing friends, values, and themselves in the process. While someone special to share our lives with will add to our happiness, if we do not have God and his grace in our lives it is only a substitute for the love we can really experience. I will admit it took me some growing up to do to realize that God should be at the center of a relationship. So many girls are rushed to get married or move in, why? If someone loves you they will love you no matter what. We do not realize we have our whole lives ahead of us to get married, move in and have kids, enjoy it while it lasts. Now, I am by no means saying I am perfect, lord knows I am far from it, but I am just voicing some conclusions I have come to in the last few months.
Someone said to me about two months ago, how can you say that you have changed in a month? I bit my tongue and let it go rather than arguing about it, because it really is better to let things go unsaid rather than cause an argument. What I wanted to say was, I have God in my life and with him, anything is possible. But this person did not quite understand me when I talked about God and his grace so it was hard to explain that. I guess the point I am getting at is I have realized that with God my life is full, whether I have a boyfriend, or a fancy house, or a record deal (hopefully someday!), or millions of dollars, those things do not matter when put into perspective.
My favorite quote is, "When I stand before God at the end of my life I hope that I can say I used every talent you gave me." God has given each of us a talent, a gift. I love to sing and play music, and I realize that being a big pop star is not the important thing, it is using my gift to do good and possibly inspire people in the process. God doesn't give us our talents and passions to be wasted. Whether our passion be to sing, cook, collect coins, or play football, we should take those things and use them the best way we can. I do not know whether or not I will one day get a record deal but I trust that the Lord will guide me in whichever way I should go, and whats best for me.
Before all of this I thought being a famous singer and actress would be great, money, fame, perks. But now I realize thats not what its about, its about being happy, and living life as the best person you can be.
I met someone who seemed like a great person about a year ago, good christian, hard worker, and all of that good stuff. They would preach to me about how to be a good christian and live through God and they went to church religiously. As time progressed I noticed this person was obsessed with work and making millions of dollars. They were willing to sacrifice people around them to get to where they wanted to be. It was sad to say the least but it really taught me the value of the people around me and that no dream or job should never come before those I love. I have realize that just because a person goes to church five days a week doesn't make them a christian, its the way they act outside of that sanctuary that matters.
I claimed to be a christian for many years because I went to church every Sunday, even on Saturdays, but throughout the week I was not living the way God intended for me to. I did not have a strong relationship with God and that is what I have found really matters. When God is working through you things do not seem so bad. When you help others you are rewarded ten fold in your heart. We should never judge others, only God can do that. I know it is easier said than done but who are we really judging when we point fingers at other people. Do we first look at ourselves and our lives, now, if you are the second coming of Jesus himself then you can claim to be perfect and judge other people but I dont think thats the case :) . Just because people do not do things the way we do them or want them to be done does not give us the right to make them feel miserable or point fingers at them. Often times we are so focused on other people and their faults because we are too afraid to see our own. But the Lord knows we make mistakes and he forgives us for all of those, so why is it so hard for us to forgive ourselves and others? There are people cursing at God and turning away from him, yet, he still loves them unconditionally, how can that be?
If we put God before all else in our lives we will see his grace and feel it as well. We have to thank God even in the bad times to appreciate the good, wake up every morning and thank him for the things you have. I heard a story about a girl who thanked God every time something good happened to her, and prayed to him every time something bad happened. Her life was going badly so she started to pray to God to help her and all of these wonderful things started happening, then when her life got better, she stopped. Things started to get bad again and she said "God, why are you doing this to me?" and he responded "Because you stopped thanking me" ....When I heard that story it really clicked, I made it a point to thank God everyday, even when its really hard. We have to have a little rain to enjoy the sunshine :)
In recent months I have really thought about all of this, I had a situation with a very negative person in my life, had a miserable job, then my dad lost his job for the second time, then my grandmother passed away. As all of these things happened you would think I would be more and more miserable, but as these things happened I found that I was better able to make sense of them and felt God more in my heart then ever. I have realized that God gives me all of these hard times to make me appreciate the good times more, and to really make me a stronger and better person. I am so thankful that he has found my heart the way he has and is working through me. I realize that everyday is a blessing and we should thank the Lord for everything, its because of him that we have been given the things we have.
On a final note my priest Fr. Michael gave a sermon on Sunday, and said, he went to a church where there was a list of people to pray for, I believe it was about six pages. All of these were students taking final exams, he told us that we should pray to God for everything whether it be to do well on a final exam or to help a relative who is sick. God wants us to turn to him and sometimes he doesnt answer our prayers, but its not because he doesnt hear them its because maybe what we are praying for is not something we need at that time, or are ready for. This really struck a chord with me, it makes so much sense, often times we think God is ignoring us when he is really doing the opposite, he is doing whats best for us.
Sorry that this was so incredibly long :)
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart," Psalm 37:4.
