~1 Chronicles 16:11 (NIV)~

Sometimes, you just need a little time to figure out who you are.  Sometimes, who you are has been wrapped up in who everyone has wanted or needed you to be for so long that you forgot where you started and where you had intended to finish.  As I sit here with my daughter, watching the New Year’s Eve celebration on television I couldn’t be happier to be sitting at home enjoying peace and quiet (or at least, lowered volumes) instead of fighting the crowd and smoke and loud music that often accompanies hanging out at the club.

Years ago, before I was a mom, I used to go out every year in search of something.  Always hoping to find some missing piece of myself in that crowd.  But it wasn’t until I got quiet and started seeking the truth that I began to feel like a whole person.  And now, I no longer have to sit in a booth or at a table full of people and feel so completely alone.  I no longer have to numb those feelings of fear that used to hang on me like chains.  Those chains are gone.  I’ve been set free.

If you are still seeking the missing pieces, I recommend that you look no further than the nearest Bible.  Give yourself time to be alone and read it with an eye toward learning something about your purpose here.  Instead of trying to find more reasons to avoid God or blame Him for the things you haven’t been able to find, why don’t you try asking Him for a little help.  Once you understand the importance of being obedient to your Creator, the pressure you put on yourself to know all of the answers all of the time will begin to fade.  Once you know who your true champion is, you’ll find yourself trying to spend more time with Him rather than trying to forget He’s there.

If you don’t know where to start, send me a message here and I will not only pray for you, I will send you a free devotional to help you get started.  Reaching out to Him is not as hard as we have often convinced ourselves it is.  He is waiting.  He only wants the best for His children and He allows us to make our mistakes so that we will seek Him out.  There is one relationship that is worth seeking and pouring your whole heart into; that’s your relationship with Christ.  Without it, you aren’t really equipped to be in relationship with anyone else.  You may think you are, but without the foundation He provides, it’s like building a castle in quicksand.

We can stay rooted in our refusal to accept the blessings He gives or we can break free from the world and allow Him to wrap His arms around us and fill our hearts with His unfailing love.  I hope you will choose the way that leads to a love that never ends. He is not merely something you put at the top of your list of priorities.  He is not an option that we allow for in our lives.  He is like the air you breathe; you don’t have to think about how important it is to take in the oxygen.  You know that without it, you won’t last long.  You don’t have to wonder whether or not He is with you; He’s always there.

This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.