Spring Is Coming.

        There is something intoxicating and energizing about the arrival of spring. It's as if the warmth and light of the sun are drawing out the sights and sounds and smells, heightening the fresh beauty of a new year and new life.
        I love the fragrance of spring. The sweet blossoming flowers, the fresh grass, the warm earth - combined with the smell of the wind, it creates something magical.
        But as much as I love the unfolding of this new season, it is bittersweet for me.
        Spring, particularly its scent, takes me back in time. Back to a time when I was wrapped in a dark fog, struggling to come to terms with my brother's sudden death. I spent a lot of time outside in those first weeks and months - talking to my best friend on the phone, praying, trying to make sense of what I was feeling. It was somewhere wide and open where I felt like I could breathe and think and get a grasp, albeit feeble, on the unchecked emotions that were tearing me apart inside.
        It was my haven.
        Spring is coming once again, and every breath is like a memory. The smells take me back over the months and years in an instant. And all I can say is, God is good.
        It is a bittersweet feeling; an aching smile. Remembering hurts, but the past is such a beautiful reminder of God's faithfulness and how far I've come by His grace.
        And His grace will carry me home.

Spring is coming

And all we've been hoping and longing for soon will appear

Spring is coming, Spring is coming

And it won't be long now, it's just about here

~Spring Is Coming {Steven Curtis Chapman}

~Riah

Not "Just Another One"

A few weeks ago, I was chatting with a girl online who said she was contemplating suicide. I tried to reach out to her by sharing some of my own experiences with depression so that she would know that I really did understand some of what she was going through. Naturally God came up in the conversation, and while she wasn’t a Christian, she didn’t disbelieve in the existence of God or a god.
She wanted to know why she was suffering. Why God, who supposedly loved her, wasn’t saving her from this bad situation. If God was really all-loving and all-powerful, then there wouldn’t be evil and suffering in the world, and she wouldn’t be unloved and wanting to kill herself with no one but people on the internet to talk to. She felt unimportant and worthless.
        “I’m just another one of God’s creations.”
We talked for a while after that, but those words stuck with me. Just that one sentence carried so much hurt. I’m just another one of God’s creations. I don’t really matter; He doesn’t care about me in particular. I’m just another one of His little toys, put on this earth to live and to suffer. What do I matter?
I wish that I could have made her understand just how treasured she is.
There is no ‘just’ about it. God created every person with purpose; He didn’t toss in a few extra thousand to act as fillers. He crafted each and every person, “fearfully and wonderfully”, and has a plan for them.
I don’t know if this girl, Zara, is alive right now. I haven’t heard from her since that day. I don’t know if my words made a difference – and I probably never will. But I pray that they did. I pray that God opened her eyes to see Him and her heart to receive His love.

Whoever you are, whatever stage of life you might be in, never forget this: You are not “just another one”. You were made carefully, lovingly, with purpose. God has neither forgotten nor forsaken you. Take heart.

~Riah

Jesus Loves Me

        The past few weeks, I've just been gliding by. Thoughts and feelings were kept shallow, struggles and uncertainties swept under the rug. The hours of the day slipped by unused while I remained wrapped up in my own little self. 

        I was tired. Tired of trying and failing. Of making resolutions and watching them slip between my fingers like sand. Of feeling too much of what I didn't want to feel, and feeling too little of what I did want to feel. I was so tired of being stuck where I was and seemingly powerless to change it. 

        I was tired, and for just a little while, I didn't want to think, didn't want to try, didn't want to be. I just wanted to sleep for a long, long time and fix all my problems in the morning when my brain could string together a coherent thought and I had the energy to live again. 

         But on Christmas afternoon, after the gifts had been opened and the wrapping paper cleaned up and the food put away, alone in a closet with my Bible, God told me something. 

         I love you. 

         I blinked. What?

         I love you. 

         "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus." (Luke 1:31)

         I love you. 

         "While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:6-7)

          I love you. 

          "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." (Luke 22:42)

          I love you. 

          "Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him..." (Luke 23:46)

          I love you. 

          "But they kept calling out, saying, "Crucify, crucify Him!" " (Luke 23:21)

          I love you. 

          "And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit." Having said this, He breathed His last." (Luke 23:46)

          I love you. 

          It is such a crazy, mind-blowing thought... that He loves me. That He came in the form of a man, was beaten and killed and raised again from the dead - all for me. I cannot begin to fathom such a love. 

          And yet here it is. God is continually pouring out the riches of His grace and love on the thirsty souls of this desperate, broken world. Many are blind, but those of us who have been given eyes to see... how blessed we are! 

          There is nothing that I need - nothing that I can - do to earn His love. Absolutely nothing. It is unconditional and unending. He knows me inside and out, far better than I could ever know myself, and He still loves me endlessly.

          He is my Strength. 

          He is my Joy. 

          He is my Peace. 

          He is my Love. 

          God, help me to never lose sight of that. 

          There isn't time to wallow in self pity. There is a fight to fight, a race to finish! So get up and get at it! Embrace the love that God has bestowed on you and let it strength you and fill you to overflowing. It is a love that is meant to be shared. 

~Riah

Masterpiece

         This article is about a woman who turns her two-year-old daughter's drawings into beautiful pieces of art. Looking over the pictures, I was absolutely blown away by the art she found in her daughter's scribbles.
         It made me think of God turning our broken lives into something beautiful.

"The Little Red Boat"

        You may look at yourself and see a bunch of scribbles, mistakes that cannot be erased, but God looks at you and sees a beautiful piece of art. He is using each line, every choice you've ever made, to shape you into who He made you to be.

        "You are a masterpiece that grows closer to completion every day. You cannot expect to be finished overnight, and you cannot allow yourself to become discouraged when you don’t progress as fast as you think you should. The Artist loves to watch every stroke of His brush add another dimension of depth and beauty, bringing you closer and closer to His perfect vision. When the portrait of your life is complete, He will unlock the canvas from its easel, and hold it up: “Beloved, you are mine.” And with that, He will add the finishing touch: His signature- written in His blood. He will walk over to His wall and hang it up to admire its beauty and perfection. At that moment, you will be standing there with Him, having finally realized that your entire life on earth was merely preparation for this moment, and the eternity to follow."

~Joshua Eddy

~Riah

Worth More

In a culture with high expectations that we all too often fall short of, it can be easy to doubt your value. The unrealistic ideal of perfection is displayed, demanded, and striven for at almost any cost. People are destroying themselves for the sake of being called beautiful by a world that really doesn’t care.
I don’t know about you, but I find that incredibly sad.
The pressure is everywhere. Be thinner, girl; diet, diet, diet. Shed those pounds, get rid of that muffin top. Wear tight jeans, show off those legs. Dip your neckline a little lower, show more skin; guys only want sexy. Paint yourself with makeup; do absolutely anything and everything you can to be beautiful. 
Girls aren’t the only ones under pressure. Society isn’t too kind to guys either. Get a job, get a car, get a girl, workout, work harder; go to college and make something of yourself.
In today's culture, all that seems to matter is looking good and living good. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with wanting a good body and a good career. These are worthwhile things to pursue. But when it becomes an obsession - when these things begin to define your worth and who you are - that's a problem.
I know what it’s like to feel worthless; I’ve been there. And no matter how many times my family and friends would tell me that I was beautiful, talented, worthwhile, etc., I never felt it. All I felt was ugly, empty, and broken.
But there was one thing that got through to me. One simple, amazing truth that convinced me of my worth. It was this:
I was crafted by the hand of God, in His image, for His purpose.
And that makes me infinitely valuable.
You don’t need anyone or anything to define your worth aside from God.
The God of the universe took the time to make you with His own hands. What’s more, He died so that you could live with Him in paradise for all eternity. What more do you need?
You don’t need to submit to the world’s image to be beautiful.
You were created in the image of the almighty God; how can you be anything less than gorgeous? Just be who you are. It truly is the heart of a person that makes them beautiful.
You don’t need to stress about finding your ‘purpose’.
God doesn’t make mistakes. He chose to make you, to write you into His story, and He had a reason for doing so. Even if you don’t know what your purpose is yet, never doubt His plan for your life. You were made for a purpose, and you won’t die until you complete the very thing He made you to do.

So what if you have a muffin-top? That doesn’t make you any less beautiful.
So what if you don’t have well-defined abs? Strength of heart is so much more admirable.
So what if you can’t afford college? You don’t need a degree to make a difference.
Your worth is not in your appearance. Your worth is not in your personality, talents, beliefs, or anything else.
Your worth is in the very fact that you exist, because you were made and loved by God.
Don’t fall prey to the lies that society is trying to feed you. You are beautiful – no matter your body type, your laugh, your unique giftings, or any of the other things that make up who you are. God created you for a purpose, and He loves you desperately.

You are worth so much more than the world’s standard of beauty. Never forget that. <3

~Riah

Hello Autumn

         It's finally Autumn!!
        Autumn is my favorite season. It's not too hot (summer), not too cold (winter), not too wet (spring). It's the perfect balance of everything - not to mention insanely beautiful. There is something positively intoxicating about the crisp air, the turning of the leaves, the sense of peace that settles over everything. There's nothing else like it in the world.
     
       Sweaters, hot apple cider, crisp mornings, pumpkin bread, warm coffee, boots, foggy mornings, brisk evenings, vibrant leaves, walks through the woods, rainy days, peaceful silence, thick carpets of leaves,

        These are the things I love about Autumn. <3

~Riah