Love Restores

His love restores, His words are true
What this world breaks, His hands make new
So do not fear, not anymore,
He can heal what's broken and torn
His love restores

Sometimes, we are stubborn in our ways, or we are blind, or we simply cling to what we know. Sometimes, God as to chip away the pieces-the good and the bad-to leave us vulnerable. To leave us raw and to give us knowledge and to mold us with goodness and grace. He is the potter, shaping us slowly into the most beautiful creation. Sometimes, the process is messy, and hard, and painful. To shed layers and to step out of who you were and into who you are meant to be can be scary, and frightening, and uncomfortable. We as humans have to realize He is truly in control of our lives, and He is the most gracious and loving father, wanting only the best for all of his children, as flawed and broken as we are. He will bring us through trials but it is because He wants us to get to the other side of that mountain. Even as we hold His hand tightly, it is still going to be scary, and hard, and that is because God gave us a heart that can love with an unlimited capacity. But it is through Him that we find peace, and comfort, and love, an unmeasurable amount of love and mercy. In my life I feel overwhelmed and powerless at times, and even incomplete, but in His eyes, and in His hands, I am so wonderfully whole and healed.
  

22

Well friends, there is officially less than five months until a very popular Taylor Swift song is my anthem! In five months and some days, I don't know about you, but I will be feeling 22!

With seven months of experiences under my belt, I thought I would come up with a few more I want to knock out.

1. Read Interiew with a Vampire. I've had it for years and I swear I've tried three times to get through it.

2.Go to a concert.

3. Send a care package. They're so fun!

4. Attend an on campus event.

5. Attend a Hip Hop class.

6. Sew something. Anything. A button, a ripped shirt, or just go big and make a dress!

7. Make a pinterest recipe. Using every ingredient called for, not just whatever is in my pantry. That's cheating.

8. Read The Jungle. Or toss it out. Again, I've had it for years and sits untouched.

9. See a classic movie that everyone has seen but me. Which is everything, really.

10. Complete a pinterest craft. Again, I have a million of them pinned but with no time, none of them get done.

11. Get a tattoo. Crazy, I know, and permanent! Since getting my first one three years ago, I've had plenty of time to dream of another one and I think I've got it. Denton has some great deals for students so I might as well take advantage.

12. Meet KAT after years of far away friendship. She's close now, so there is no excuse!

13. Find a red wine that I like (*CoughNOTCabernet!JoCough*)

22 by littlev92 on Polyvore

May your load be light.

I pinned this quote a few days ago, as it seemed like such a simple way to keep your load light. Simply unload all of the hate and anger and bitterness. Let love shine through you. These days I am surrounding my self with affirmations and this one just fit right in.

Moments.

It has been quiet lately. That’s a stretch, I suppose. It’s been busier and more chaotic than ever. Staying focused and being present in each moment as it happens is something I have to work on because as of late, my mind seems to be racing and wandering to other things-school, work, memorizing menus and remembering who needed cups of water, who wanted what muffin, and which couple wanted their goods to go or at their table.  It’s a good, busy, full life.

There have been many, many changes this year, more than I can ever remember being. Some of them have been needed and necessary. Some have been planned out, options weighed. Some have happened as life would have it and some of them, I had no control over. There are far too many things to list, some personal, some not, but with my world changing and rearranging, I find myself a little overwhelmed with it all.

God, as good as he is, gives me so many moments of quiet to reflect on it all and soak it all in. Many people today don’t know how to be still, they are afraid of that moment when the quiet sets in around them, but not I. 

FUN FACT: I almost named my blog “the quiet corner”. It’s cute right? It sounds quaint, cozy, charming, still. But then I thought, when is my life EVER quiet? When is my mind EVER silenced? I am loud, crazy, outgoing, full of laughter. There is no room for quiet here! I suspect that there will come a time in my life when I will have a “quiet corner” in the world, but for now, loud suits me.

So here, in my loud, crazy, beautiful corner of the world (and blogosphere) I can unashamedly say that I have struggled this year, with all of the changes thrown at me. Some have been harder to overcome than others, and some I am working on being at peace with, and that is okay. I am not afraid of silence, I am not afraid of change and I am never, never afraid of life and how it will turn. Even if it is ugly, unfair, heart breaking, confusing, evil, wonderful, all of it. I am not afraid. I was born to do this.

There is this girl that I am absolutely in love with. I adore everything about her. Her fight, her spirit, her passion, the way she makes mistakes and rises above them even when given every reason not to. She is absolutely beautiful, absolutely vulnerable even at her strongest. She is headstrong. She is struck down but not destroyed and the loyalty she gives to her friends and family is unmatched. The love and the light and the life that pours from her is awe-worthy. 

I have come to realize that I am more like Brooke PenelopeDavis than anyone and that is okay. Being lost is okay, being open is okay, walking around with open wounds is okay! Because that is life! It goes on! You find yourself, you get what you give, and your wounds turn into wisdom. Bad days turn to good ones and one day, you learn to laugh again, that unabashed laughter that causes you to double over and gasp for breath.

That being said, I have handled each change with as much grace and level headedness that a 21 year old could muster. Most days I don’t even feel 21, but that’s a post for another day. It’s been a crazy ride for sure, and it is easy to get frustrated and upset because my life isn’t going the way I “planned”. There is fear in the unknown but I am courageous, in loud moments and in quiet ones.