Oh, blog, how I've missed you. You would think that over my five week Christmas break I would have found time to blog. However, it seems like when you have the least amount of things to do, you suddenly become too busy to do anything productive. My break was full of hanging out with my friends, bonding with my family, doing a little bit of working, and just recovering from the first semester of college life. And now here I am. Back at school. The beginning of my second semester. I've only been back for a week, but it feels like I never even left. Granted, I have a whole new schedule and a new roomie (I love both of these new things, by the way!).
This year has already brought so many new things into my life. Besides the newness of this semester, I have started a new rountine for myself. I found a Bible reading plan that will take my through the Bible in a year. I have read Genesis, Job, 2 Peter, and Galatians. I've also read various Psalms and am now getting into Matthew. Most of the things I have read so far were already familiar to me, but some of the things were new. I had never read through the entire book of Job before. And let me tell you, it was not an uplifting thing. I spent 15 days reading a couple chapters of Job a day. Job went through a lot of trials and was confused about why God wasn't answering his cries and was unsure how to find God and the answers that he needed. Though the trials in my own life have not been great, I can relate to Job's thinking. Sometimes, when I feel like the world is full of trials and hard situations, I wonder why God allows these things to happen. I know that God has a plan and that He has a purpose for everything, but sometimes, when you are in the middle of a trial, it is hard to see past the hurt and pain. When my parents were getting divorced, the last thing I wanted to hear was that God had a plan and that I should trust Him. All I was thinking was, "God, why does this have to be in your plan? Can't you accomplish your will in another way?" When I hear that friends or family members are sick, it is hard to grasp that there is a purpose in their pain. But it's true. God has a plan. In the middle of a trial, nothing seems to make sense. It is easy to feel like you are drowning in confusion and doubt. In those cases, maybe the only logical thing to do is to cling to what you know. Cling to the knowledge that God doesn't abandon you and that He does have a plan, even if it is not in accord with our own plans. Remember what Proberbs 19:21 says? Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Cling to that knowledge.
A verse that I ran across when I was doing a Bible overview plan at the end of 2010 struck my heart and made trials seem a litle easier to bear. Even though sometimes it may seem like God has turned His back and left us to fend for ourselves, He doesn't. See:
"For I am convinced that neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present not the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39
