May 1, 2015

Finding Who I truly Am

Update: I think for this specific post, your comments have been so encouraging to me, and have been reminding me of a lot of different things, so I thank you <3 
There's so much that I've been thinking about lately and the thoughts that have been circling throughout my head are so large in number. 
There's 3 main things I've been thinking about lately, the main one being who am I? 

Who am I? 
Okay, I know to whom I belong, but lately, I've been struggling in trying to figure out who I truly am. When I think about the person that I am, I've been asking myself, is this who I really am? Or am I trying to be "myself", and end up being someone that I'm not?
Yes, these thoughts are somewhat pathetic, but it's literally what I've been thinking through lately.
Part of these thought patterns are coming from trying to figure out who my closest friends are, and who I want to spend the most time with. Even other "Christians" have to be picked and chosen carefully. I think that even though having people who share that common bond of Christ is important, I think there are really some people whose Christian life isn't adding up or they aren't being consistent. Now, I'm the same way, and I'm not always consistent. But I think you can seriously tell which friends in general you walk away from encouraged, not influenced in a negative or in a weird way.
 I thought I was for sure in who I was and nobody was going to change that. But I think I've discovered a lot of things that have changed me, and people who have influenced me to be "myself" and I think that's turning me into more of who I really am...but I don't know for sure. When I am around them, I feel free to be myself, I guess it's really hard to put into words the way I'm feeling.
I know that I am a daughter of the King, and sometimes, I don't know who I am supposed to be. But maybe, knowing who I am in Christ is the only thing I do need to know...or will ever know for sure. 
All sins are a direct insult to God 
I think I've talked about this before in my post about comparing others. Sometimes I compare myself to others in a negative light, but sometimes it is also to "lift myself up". I sometimes will say, "oh I'm not as bad as someone else" or I've found myself saying, "Well at least I'm a Christian. These people are doing way worse things than me."
I think ultimately this is a pride problem, and this is when I need to be reminded of what Christ really did. Sometimes we get so used to the phrase "Jesus died on the cross" that we skim over it. Seriously, every sin that we commit is a direct insult to God's character. He HATES sin. One single sin is what separates us from God in the first place.
Youth Group 
I think we all in our minds have an image of what we want our youth group to look like. Our environment currently needs some changes, and all of the kids in the group know that. After much praying and thinking through, I'm eventually going to plan a meeting with my youth pastor and talk about some stuff. But then there's the struggle of wondering what changes really need to be made and what are just preferences...and what are things that are up to the teens to change?

Have you ever experienced similar things...or is there something about finding who you are that you've been reminded of recently? 

By the way, thank you for 60 followers. I honestly have no clue how I have gotten this far. A lot of my writing seems rambled and pointless, but I know that God has used it to encourage at least a few of you, and that's what is most important. So thank you everyone for bringing me to this point!

8 comments:

  1. Let me tell you, I ask myself this every day. People know me, but there aren't many who actually know how I am and what makes me angry, sad, or happy, and it's hard. It stinks. Morning. My real name, which can be split into two nicknames, is interchangeable and only certain people call me those nicknames. But those who call me by all of these nicknames, my real name, and my screen name, they are the ones who made the screen name-- they know me.

    And it's stinks, big time. The people in my classes and such always judge me and it's difficult and I'm always thinking of others' opinions before mine until something that I know violates my morals. The only thing is, in order to know who you are: know and accept your past, and find out where you want to go. Those are the things that make us who we are. They don't define us, but they help.

    xoxo Morning

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  2. Thank you for sharing.. you know what you pointed out, is pretty close to home. I know I am constantly comparing myself to others around me, always trying to find whats wrong with me, and leaving me feeling worthless, when in reality, we don't need to be comparing oursevles with those besides us, I mean.. What happened to God? So this really encouraged me.. Thanks for sharing! Your blog is amazing, and I love your writing, Keep it up!

    Riarna xx

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  3. I struggle with who I am a lot as well. I want to be me, but I don't want to be someone else when I'm trying to be me, if that makes sense? But I think the important thing to remember is that everyone else is struggling as well and that if you are happy and you think God would be happy, you're on the right track :)

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  4. I've been feeling that way to recently. My freshman year has past by so quickly and I realize that I have a lot less time than I thought I did. Awhile ago, I was sure who I was going to be, but this year, I find myself uncertain. Thank you for your honest post. You're right. God does hate sin and He is always watching us.
    In Christ,
    Sarah

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  5. I totally get what you're feeling! I started high school last fall, and God has really helped me find myself this year. I've realized that I have to be who God made me to be around everyone, and I think God will use that to impact others.
    I have also realized that holding onto Christ is the most important thing, and when I put Him at the center of my life He puts everything else where it needs to be. Sometimes when I find myself changing, I have to ask myself if that change happened because of God or because of a negative influence.
    I totally know what you mean when you say friends have to be picked easily. I made some friends in middle school who weren't the best influence on me. God has been working in me to get me back on track, and while I'm still friends with them now, I try to not let them influence me negatively. I think they see Christ inside of me when He gives me the strength to resist temptation, and all I can do is hope that God uses that to point them to Him.

    Thank you for being so, so honest!
    God bless,
    Mary Shelley

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  6. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. I'm on this search to be "me" so much, that along the way I start to worry, "wait. What if this isn't me, but someone I'm trying to be?" It's a little confusing, but thankfully, I have a Rock. A very firm one. The Bible has been so encouraging when I feel like that. Especially Psalms. It's like I'm just like, "Yup, I totally get David on that." And the fact that God actually cares about me and loves me, regardless of all the mistakes I made, wow.

    I haven't been on your blog recently, but I'm back now!

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  7. I'm torn between overanalyzing it and just simply trusting that where I am, who God has placed in my life, and all the talents he has given me defines who I am. Maybe it all boils down to that... to our comfort levels. Where we're comfortable, who we're comfortable with, and what we're comfortable doing. Maybe that defines us. It can be so confusing and complicated to try and figure out on our own. Which is another reason I love having Christ. I believe that when we pursue him wholeheartedly and make him our one ambition, he will slowly reveal to us who we truly are, who he created us to be. That's the beautiful part. He knows exactly who we really are, even when we don't. But I have no doubts that he WILL reveal it to me in time, little by little, as I seek to fall in love with him more.

    I'm SO glad you addressed the youth group issue! I currently head up a youth band in our church, and let me tell you it is hard. But that's a whole different topic and this comment is already long enough. Maybe another post?? ;)

    Molly Marie
    mollyslittlecorner.blogspot.com

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  8. Honestly, Lauren. Your posts are some of your favorites. I love how you discuss the issues in which we all struggle with at this age. <3

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