You and I were made to worship
You and I choose to belive
You and I are sinners set free ~Chris Tomlin


Fall break certainly is nice...even if a cold accompanies it. Well, actually probably more than a cold, but it's getting better so that's what I'll call it.

Lately, it seems like several of my friends have worlds that are just unraveling. Or it's already unraveled as far as it seems possible, and there they are, standing there, trying to piece the shards, the threads, the splinters...back together. Some live what we would consider "perfect" lives on the outside, yet we never know what they endure internally. Some are letting their worlds fall apart, they see it happening, and don't care to do anything about it. Others, though, don't see it yet somehow they should...blinded somehow...and don't listen to the people that try to warn them. For some, the unraveling is a slow process, for others, it rocks their world in only a couple of weeks or even a few days.

Last year a friend asked me, "Amanda, when am I next? When am I just gonna go off the deep end?" I don't see this person going that way, but I'm not God either. Anyway, my point in finally getting all of this out in writing is that some of those that are experiencing such hardship and sandpapered lives are Christians who love the Lord, and it shows. Some don't really know what to believe, after all, "How could a God who loves me let all of this crap happen to me?"

I can't answer those kind of questions. What I can do is tell you that Christ is the only constant and unchanging person that exists in this constantly changing universe. He is the only one who can sustain YOU. Sure, you might be able to sustain yourself for a little while, "getting by," with no joy, and a sense of a loss of purpose. Take my word for it...I have had encounters with these feelings (last year to be exact). For my friends that are clinging to Christ with all that they are in these hardships, you are stronger than I am, and I look up to you so much! Cling to Jesus, and live!

For those that are doubting, rejecting, turning away from your Savior...no shame. He'll still be there when you come back to Him...He is the one who never leaves. When you're ready, He will meet you where you are. There is no condemnation in Christ. IN CHRIST. The devil wants you to be ashamed of doubting...but remember that God's plan for you is way better than the plan satan has for you. Es obvious, no? I am praying for you. I am trying to continue my friendships with you. I am trying to show you that I love you no matter what, because Jesus is the epitome of that kind of love. I want my life to draw you in to Him. And I want you to know that if you are truly a follower of The Way, that He will never leave you. Love is patient: He will wait for you. You and I are no exception to His sin-conquering, intoxicating love. He has come to set us free!!!!

Watching my friends' worlds fall apart, even if from a distance where I can't see the tiny rocks crumbling, but merely the boulders crashing down in an avalanche...is scary. It's depressing, sad, and freakish. But God is my constant. He is my sustainer. He is how I get through my struggles. "Struggles?" some might say, "...you don't have struggles." Compared to some, no I really don't. But we all have struggles that are easily hidden from the people we are around.

Be encouraged. Don't stop fighting for joy!

He never lets go. Through the calm and through the storm.
OH NO. You never let go of me.

Don't let go of Him, friends. But if you do, He's waiting. He's leaving the 99 to find you...

"Surely God is my help, the Lord is the one who sustains me!" Psalm 74:4