Control

By Claire

Control. There are so many things in the world that we wish we had control over, but we don’t. We wish that we had control over what other people are doing. We wish we had control over what is going on in the world -- the ignorance, the hate, the sin...everything that appears to have control over us.  If we all had control, would our lives really be better?

Think about it - if we all had control, we would mess up everything. We would make all the wrong decisions, think proudly of ourselves more than anyone else, and be very rude to everyone around us. Everyone would be unhappy. Parents would be frustrated with their headstrong children, kids would be angry with their bossy friends, and teachers would be furious with their students. If all of us had control, everything would be ruined.

There will always be things that we won’t have control over. Sometimes, all we can do is ask God to forgive us for wanting to have that control...for trying to handle the situation by ourselves instead of Him. But God knows what’s best for us and the problems we may have. So, don't worry -- God is in control.

Emotions

Emotions

By Claire

Doubt. Fear. Hate. Disappointment. These are all common feelings to have. But why do we feel them? Can’t we just be happy all the time? Most of us would agree that it’s very hard to always have a smile on our faces. It’s hard to be happy with ourselves and what we do. What if I told you that having these feelings hurts God? Crazy, right?  Let me explain.

Imagine painting a picture of a little girl. Imagine that this little girl has green eyes and long and tangled brown hair. She’s tall for her age, and freckles cover her face. So you’ve painted this beautiful picture, and you’re very proud of it. You love it. It’s perfect just the way it is. Now imagine that the little girl came to life. But she complains about her freckles and how they looked bad. She doesn’t like her hair, and she thinks her eyes are ugly. “I hate myself,” she says. “I wish I were a different person.” Stop right there. Think. We say that about ourselves sometimes, too. We aren’t happy with the way we are. I don’t know about you, but I would be offended if someone called my picture ugly. Not good enough. Not smart or pretty. That’s exactly what happened. Your picture came to life and said, “You made me ugly. You didn’t make me good enough. I don’t like myself.”

With God, it’s the same thing. Sometimes we call His creation (you and I) ugly, not good enough, and unlovable.  These emotions and feelings get in our way and hurt Him even when we don’t realize it. So, don’t judge yourself. Accept who you are because God created you, and you are beautiful just the way you are.  

(P.S. Think of Bruno Mars! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjhCEhWiKXk)

Holes

By Claire

All was silent in the house.

My parents and I are in the sun room, avoiding the natural scatter of family around the house. My dad is on his new laptop, my mom on the keyboard, and me, knitting -- until now. (It’s almost impossible to knit and type at the same time…) All you can hear is the birds chirping outside, the empty pounding of the keys on the piano (my mom has headphones on, so there’s no sound), the tapping of the keys on my dad’s laptop, and the occasional clanking of my knitting needles. This was a little unusual for a Sunday, especially because we were all off in our own little worlds.

Now, let me tell you, sometimes, I don’t even care what I knit. I just start with ten or fifteen stitches and go. But, with skinny needles and skinny yarn, options are limited - you can’t start big knitting projects. When I knit, sometimes I feel like I’m just a lost stitch in the knitting. Lost stitches create big, unwanted holes in your knitting that are very noticeable. When I feel like a lost stitch, I don’t feel important or helpful. But when I feel like a regular hole in the knitting (because there’s always holes), I feel important. Believe it or not, the little holes make up the finished product. In most of our perspectives, holes are just holes. But are they really? Now, I can either can feel like a lost stitch in the knitting that does nothing or I can feel like a hole that does do something -- like be helpful. 

Instead of sitting on a couch in the sun room with my parents feeling like a lost stitch in my knitting, I can go out and do something important. I can be the hole that helps make up the finished product. Now, Sunday is the typical day to go to church, right? Go. Don’t feel like a lost stitch in the knitting, laying there, sticking out like a sore thumb. Be like the hole that actually does something.