Hope Through Faith

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” -C.S. Lewis

Without faith, is it possible to have hope? I believe no. In order to hope, we must have faith in something. Unfortunately we often put our faith in things that will not satisfy… money, relationships, beauty, success, fame, and acceptance. But how often do these things bring us contentment that lasts beyond the initial enjoyment? We seek to gain more money, nicer cars, slimmer bodies, more friends, and more relationships… but do they ever eliminate the deeper turmoil within us? When I started this blog, I decided to try hard not to make it too overtly “Christian”. I know that we all hold different beliefs regarding God and spirituality, so I wanted to keep my “religious” ideas to a minimum in order to discuss ideas we can all agree on (for the most part). But I don’t think I can go any further in explaining how we can live purposeful and healthy lives without directing our attention to the One who created life. Before I go into all of this, I realize that you may not agree with what I say. I don’t, by any means, believe that I have all the answers. God is much bigger than our little minds could ever comprehend and for us to think that God is limited to our personal beliefs is extremely foolish and arrogant. I am just going to share what I have seen to be true in my own life and the lives of others. I also want to point something out…I’m not perfect. I have doubts and questions, flaws and insecurities, and struggles just like everyone else. Please don’t, by any means, think that what I share is in judgment or condemnation. God is still working on my life and I struggle day in and day out. But, it’s what I am about to share, that pulls me through each and every day.

As I was starting to say before, faith has the power to provide hope, security, contentment and joy, if placed in the right thing. How is it possible to achieve peace and contentment without faith in something bigger than ourselves? I personally have placed my faith in God’s love, shown through His provision of grace and mercy through Jesus. Through all of my life experiences and difficulties, I have found this faith to be the only faith capable of pulling me through. I have tried to find meaning, purpose and fulfillment through perfectionism, gaining the approval and acceptance of others, being the person I think people want me to be, and receiving attention from the people around me. I have put every ounce of my being into making others happy and pleased with me, but have only found myself with greater insecurities and a more intense need to seek the approval of others. I honestly can’t say I have conquered this. But what I have found to bring me hope is that God loves us as we are. In fact, He created us the way we are on purpose! He loves us, and that should be enough.

I don’t know if you’ve ever felt trapped in this constant cycle of searching for meaning and purpose yet only feeling emptier inside, and then feeling forced to try harder. There is a way out. Faith in the One who created us in order to allow us to find this beautiful, mysterious, unimaginable peace and contentment is the only way I have found hope to escape my constant internal struggles. God places this desire inside of us for a reason- to point us to Himself. I hope that no matter what it is that you are using to ease your discontentment, you will give the love of God a try. I promise you it is the only means by which I have been able to find peace and meaning despite the chaos of this thing we call life. 

Look For Beauty in Everyone... It's There

“Beauty?... To me it is a word without sense because I do not know where its meaning comes from nor where it leads to.” ~Pablo Picasso

I was at an art museum this past week and noticed the women portrayed in the paintings from years ago. I started thinking… who determines what is beautiful? Think back to years ago, when overweight women were considered beautiful. How in the world did our society come to the conclusion that thin, emaciated females now hold the beauty we should all strive for? Furthermore, who decided that physical beauty equates with worth? God must have placed this constant yearning for something beautiful inside of us, but humanity has twisted it into an impossible quest to be fulfilled by obtaining this ever-changing sense of physical beauty.

Try this… take a few seconds to mentally disassociate beauty with external features. Completely rid your mind of this idea. Now. Think of the most beautiful person you know. If the beauty of the person you thought of was based on their physical characteristics, start over. Once you have this person in your mind, take note of the qualities that make this person beautiful. I’ll list the characteristics I thought of…

 Selfless/giving

 Uses her gifts and talents to point others to God

 Sensitive to others’ feelings

 Always smiling/ good sense of humor

 Seeks out those who need a friend and befriends them

 Encourages me all the time to be myself

 Doesn’t care what others think about her- is herself all the time

How do we begin to shift our mindset? I’m just as guilty as the next in basing my impression of someone on society’s interpretation of physical beauty. But how do we change? This is something I’ve been asking myself for a while. I’ve come to a few conclusions…

1.     If we intentionally seek out those who may be ‘less beautiful’ through our culture’s eyes, we will begin to see the beauty in the diversity of our world. I guarantee, if you look for the beauty in others, you will find it.

2.     It is possible to consciously push aside our externally focused thoughts of others and deliberately look for the internal beauty of others and ourselves.

3.      We need to stop focusing on the flaws and faults of others and work on our own hearts. We can’t change others. We CAN change ourselves.

We can’t force society to change. We can’t single handedly shift the mindset of our present culture. But we can make changes in ourselves to better the life of at least one person. I don’t know where the importance of physical beauty came from, but I do know that it will only lead us one of two places: either to empty, fleeting feelings of self worth that will not bring us contentment, or to a lifetime of insecurities and a lack of sense of purpose, value, and acceptance. Either way, we’re left without peace, joy, and contentment. We all desire to feel loved and beautiful, never deprive anyone of these God-given desires.  

Your Life is Your Own Story

“All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts”

– William Shakespeare

If you know me, you know that I am kind of a scrawny person. You most likely will not see me lifting large weights at the gym or offering to pick up heavy objects. Well this week at work, I was sent with a cart to pick up some office supplies on the total opposite side of the hospital. Being an intern, I really had no choice in the matter. So I rolled the cart (the noisy cart, I might add) all the way over to the office where I was supposed to pick up the supplies. I walked in, told the lady at the desk what I was there for, and she directed my attention to the corner of the office where everything was piled. I turned around and saw three 20 pound boxes of paper (yes, they were 20 pounds each… I checked), and a huge box full of other office supplies- altogether weighing probably 90 pounds. I knew I was going to have a problem when I needed assistance lifting the first box of paper onto the top of the cart. After a long, grueling, embarrassing, and honestly emotionally exhausting journey back through the hospital (and after several collisions with the wall), I made it back to where I started. 

Have you ever had those moments where you feel like everyone in the world is staring at you? Although, in this situation, I’m sure everyone was staring at the poor girl carrying the cart full of office supplies that was almost her size, I often convince myself that I am the main attraction in the lives of those around me. But guess what? We all think this way! We all feel that our own life’s plot is the only (or most important) showing in the ‘movie theatre of life’- so to speak. We tend to think that our comedies, tragedies, dramas, and conflicts have the same effect on the outcome of others’ life plots as our own. While your storyline may intersect with theirs for a time, what you see as a climax (pushing a 90 lb cart across an entire hospital) they see as an extra scene that will be forgotten in a short while. This is such a freeing concept for me! Think about the times you feel embarrassed, like you are being seen as incompetent, ugly, unworthy, or unwanted. I’m sure these are defining moments for you… they are for me. Whether they happen frequently or rarely, we all remember the times we feel inadequate. What I’m trying to point out here, is that the things you are afraid other people will think and dwell upon as much as you do, others will most likely consider only for a short time. Isn’t that a relief? Don’t let your life be ruined or dictated by what others think about you, what you think others think about you, or what you think others should think about you.  Embrace the life you have been given and the person you have been created to be, and live life to the full. 

We Can All Make a Difference

“No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” -Aesop

Have you ever made an assumption about someone based on a stereotype? We’ve all done it! I hate stereotypes, though, because they take away the uniqueness of each individual. I think it is imperative that we make a conscious effort to recognize and appreciate every single person in our lives. We are all different, yet we all desire to be loved, wanted, sought after, and appreciated. I believe God allows the fulfillment of these needs, through relationships, to be an example of His love for us. I also believe that failing to have these needs met through our relationships is a major contributor to low self-esteem, poor body image, and eating disorders. In our society where we are more concerned with our own comfort than fulfilling these basic relational needs of others, a sense of inadequacy and a heightened need for acceptance will creep in. Studies show that genetic traits, social media, and peer and familial pressure to be thin may all contribute to the development of these things (which I agree with 100%). But at the core of the problem, is it safe to say that a majority of our insecurities are created by an unfulfilled need for approval and acceptance? I’ll speak for myself in saying that I often get caught up in pursuing my own desires and I neglect to acknowledge the need around me. There are people all around us… family members, friends, classmates, coworkers, neighbors… who are crying out for love and attention. We may not all be licensed counselors, medical doctors, or trained professionals, but we all have a role to play in treating and preventing eating disorders and negative body image. Never underestimate the power you have to influence someone’s life. And by this I am not implying that we need to lie, feign interest, or invest insincerely into those around us. But imagine the difference that could be made if each one of us would intentionally strive to make another individual feel special. The need is much deeper than hearing “you’re beautiful”, “you look like you’ve lost weight”, or “I love your shirt”. Tell someone what you admire most about him or her. Focus on the internal rather than the external. The more we idolize physical beauty the more insecure our culture will become. Make it a goal this week to seek out someone in your life and let them know they are loved and appreciated... you never know the impact this can have.