Self-Reflection Sundays

I ventured out of my comfort zone today by attending a church I had never been to before. Ever since I moved away from Arizona, I’ve been looking for a church very similar to the one I used to go to. Today I found it.

The church is literally five minutes from my apartment and has beautiful stained glass murals, plenty of seating, an awesome band, and a lively, energetic pastor. While all of these things are great, it was the message that really resonated with me.

Today we discussed healing brokenness. Over and over again, we go through life searching for others’ approval. We all feel the need to be accepted; to impress those around us with our accomplishments and have everyone take notice. During this process, we tend to take on different identities. In fact, we take on so many different identities that we lose the most important one – our true selves.

The point is we all make mistakes. Life will be disappointing at times. That’s a fact. There will be many times, whether it’s interviewing for a job, submitting a project you’ve worked on for months, or trying to reach a goal that feels unattainable, where we will be let down. We will be rejected. We will feel low and worthless. But it’s what you do after the fact that counts. Don’t live your life for other people; live it for you. Take your mistakes and learn from them. Feel unaccepted? Go somewhere that brings positive people together, like a church. If you know in your heart of hearts that life will be disappointing at times, then you’ll also understand that life can be pretty grand. There can’t be one without the other, now can there?