Photo Credit: http://www.divine-spirit.com/2011/04/is-easter-story-of-jesus-resurrection.html#_
"Thank You for the cross that You have carried
Thank You for Your blood that was shed
Thank You for Your blood that was shed
You took the weight of sin upon Your shoulders
And Sacrificed Your life so I could live."
- Nothing Holding Me Back,
Bryan and Katie Torwalt
I
admit I tend to be an indecisive person, but out of the entire 17 years I've
lived, I know one thing for sure-- that God exists, that He is my Savior, and
that His love is so unconditional and everlasting.
There is always this perception about
Christians, that we're hypocrites or even crazy for worshiping this intangible
being, but to me, it is the imperfection in us that gives the gospel so much
meaning. That we as humans, who tend to be so manipulative and untrusting, are
able to put our faith into something that cannot be seen or heard and that God,
who is the Creator of the entire universe, is able to forgive and love the tainted sinners that we are. So many times our
eyes and ears have deceived us, but with God, you sense Him in your heart and
soul.
God has made the greatest sacrifice
that man could ever acknowledge.
When
people say, “God loves you so much”, it seems so cliché and generic, but no, really!
God loves you so much! He loves you so much that He sent his only son
down to Earth so that He could spill His blood upon the cross. This blood, His blood, the blood of the Almighty
King, is what redeemed and forgive the sin in our hearts. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6: 23. God’s love is
what gives me hope every day and witnessing it in my life brings me so much
joy.
One thing I truly am grateful
for is the relationship I have with my mom now. A year ago, I wouldn’t have
ever thought of giving my mom a hug or even acknowledging her as my mom, but
now I thank God for blessing me with such a wonderful mom. As I grew up, my mom
tended to be very abusive, verbally and physically. She would whip me with
wooden sticks until they broke, pull my hair, scream at me, and even kick me
out of the house. My mom wasn’t an alcoholic or mentally insane, but she had a
really bad temper. I grew to really hate my mother. I hated her so much that I
even fantasized about grabbing a knife in the kitchen and stabbing her in the
heart. To me, she would never be someone I would ever love. Although over time, my
mom trusted me to discipline myself, I never let go of all the resentment I had
towards her. In my mind, she wasn’t my mom and I promised to hate her as long
as I lived. But God saw the heartache
in my heart during a retreat in my junior year and constantly told me that I
had to forgive my mom. “For if you forgive men when they sin
against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not
forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew
6: 14-15) During one
of the seminars, one of the counselors shared about how his family conflict and
how his abusive and alcoholic father was transformed by the love of God. After
personally talking to him, I finally decided that I would forgive my mom since
God had forgiven me so many times before. Although it was not easy, I humbly
came to God that night and asked Him to give me the love that He embraced for
all His children. That night, I met God in a new way and after truly forgiving
my mom, my soul felt at peace—a kind of peace that was not mundane. One year
later, my mother and I have a loving relationship which was shaped my God’s own
hands and I am truly grateful to God for all that He has done.
I am in no way trying to offend any other religion or trying
to convert anyone. This blog is just a journal of my walk with Christ and my
way of documenting all the things that God has blessed me with. I am excited to
work on this blog as the rest of senior year elapses and am excited to see how God
works in all of lives before we all leave for college. God bless you all and
have a wonderful day. J
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us
rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24
