“I have only one hope in life and that is to be used by God. The more highly we think of ourselves and our abilities and our talents, the less God can use us. I pray that God might humble me so that I understand that I am just an instrument in His hands.”
A. W. Tozer
By: Gabriela Yareliz
I am sending you greetings from the study cave. It feels like June lasted a year. In the month of June: I graduated, moved, traveled through different states, studied like a beast– it has felt like an eternity.
It was a month of more dreams come true. It was a month of seeing places I hadn’t been to in a long time. I learned nostalgia is strange. I also learned that the world changes so much that it forces our dreams to change with it. Sometimes, we live borrowed dreams. Other times, we live limited by fear. And most importantly, I have learned that life is shaped so much by our choices. We often end up choosing a path among many that changes everything; and sometimes, that path we end up choosing became a choice because it kind of chose us.
Life changes us. People change us. And often, life is about choosing what matters more. We are constantly prioritizing whether we realize it or not. We are constantly choosing.
Too often, we are worried about external things. But when it all comes down to it, the only thing that matters is what we believe in and those we love; the things we hold dear.
June reminded me of how far we have come as a society, and yet how we continue to fall so short, despite the decades and technology.
I hope that as this month comes to a close, we look deep. Let’s look deeply at our world and conflict; let’s look deeply at our desires, choices and priorities; let’s look deeply at scripture and who God wants us to be; let’s look. I think that these days, we seldom even take the time to look.
If necessary, let’s look at our dreams and sync them to our realities; let’s look at the things unseen.
And as always, let’s see fear where it lurks, and defy it.
[Images featured from Tumblr]
“We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free.“
Kavita Ramdas, in her commencement speech to Mount Holyoke graduates
“Ever since the days of Adam, man has been hiding from God and saying, ‘God is hard to find.’” Venerable Fulton J. Sheen 
“They broke your heart and you’re left with the question, ‘Am I enough?’ and it will beat against your mind like the ocean crashes against a mountain. Know this, you are enough, and you were right to not delude yourself for someone who could not distinguish what beauty is. You were right to let your heart be open, and one day it will open again, but remember to heal and grow from this pain because the next person who peeks into your soul will know that they are dealing with a heart that is ready to be unleashed. Wait for the person who has never wanted to hold anyone back, but rather wants to run free and wild with you. Never settle for what is easy, find what is good and worth fighting for, and unleash that big heart of yours so that some day, you can guide someone to a land that is better than the places they have been. Be the lighthouse you have always longed for because this world is a raging storm, and we need to let people know that they are not alone in this restless life. You are hurt now, but you are not finished, and you will not be defeated.”
GABRIELA YARELIZ 