31 Letters – Letter #31

“The final letter”

Whew! It’s finally here; the final letter.  I have to admit that I didn't think that I would be able to write 31 letters.  On October 1^st I made a public announcement (via this blog) that I would write 31 letters over the next 31 days. I had no clue what I would write about or if anyone would read what I had to say.  The nerves are gone.  I've crossed a major hurdle.  Ten years ago I was two afraid to even mention that writing was something that I enjoyed.  Writing was and is my therapy.  It’s nothing like getting lost in story or a poem or whatever.  Words hurt, but they can also heal. 

I’m 28 days into 31-years-old and already I've made a huge accomplishment.  In the past, I've written a page here and a page there over the course of a few days.  I've even written a draft of a complete novel, however, I did so over the course of a year or two.  Whether you guys realize it or not you held me indirectly accountable for seeing this writing exercise through to Letter #31.  There were many times when I wanted to give up or simply just sleep, but I knew that I wouldn't be keeping my word if I backed down, so I pushed through.  Even after taking a little break for Homecoming I had to work even harder to catch up for fear of letting you down.  So, thank you for taking this journey with me.

As I reflect over the last 31 days, there were a lot of lessons learned.  First and foremost trust was a recurring theme.  Someone once told me, “Love man, but trust God.”  Often times along the way I placed my trust in man and ended up feeling hurt and disappointment.  I had to trust myself and my abilities and not worry about other people’s opinion of me.  Everybody has an opinion.  Just about everyone uses words to get those opinions out.  God is the only one who can judge so I couldn't let what I thought people would think or say about me interrupt my assignment.

In the past 31 days, it has been difficult to concentrate on anything outside of writing.  One day soon God will give me the space and opportunity to focus full-time on writing.  In the meantime, I gotta hustle like everyone else.

After trust the next theme of the month was love.  Everyone and everything needs love.  I opened the month with showing love to my little potted house plant. Which I would like to announce has several new leaves.  I didn't realize how many wonderful people I would meet along the way simply by making a decision to show love.  Some days I found it difficult to find a candidate and other days I had a hard time narrowing my picks down to a single person.  I’m ending the game with showing myself love.  It’s not arrogance or conceit.  I love me or am learning to love me as God has created me to be.  What I came to understand is that in order to love others you must first love yourself.  And in order to love yourself, you must first love God…for God is love.  With Him everything makes sense. 

I have to admit that every day over the past 31 days hasn't been great.  There were times when I was angry with God for putting in certain situations or allowing me to endure repeated hurt and pain from people who I considered friends or family.  It was difficult to endure the hurt because I felt like I was trying to do some good in the world.  I honestly thought that I was making a difference, so I couldn't understand why God would punish me. 

He wasn’t punishing me.  He was making me better.  I am a year older and a year wiser.  God has already seen my strength in times of trouble during the ages of 21 and 30, so now the challenges are getting a little bit harder.  The road is getting a little bit tougher. 

I was reminded of two bible stories:  The story of Job and the story of Joseph.  Job endured great pain. He lost everything.  His friends turned their backs on Him.  There were often times when He wanted to give up, but God… God restored Job back to where he started. 

Joseph was placed into slavery by his brothers.  YES! His flesh and blood sold him away and turned their backs on him.  Everywhere that Joseph went from that day forward God showed him favor.  When he finally reconnected with his brothers they didn't even recognize him.  Joseph realized that God had placed him right where he was suppose to be so that he could help his family when they needed it the most. What man meant for evil, God turned it into good.

So my key take-a-ways from this journey would have to be…

-          Love man, trust God

-          Just surrender

-          Learn how to love yourself first

-          God is the answer to everything

-          True happiness begins with obedience

-          Everything in God’s plan may not feel good, but keep the faith…

Matthew 9:29 “Because of your faith, it will happen.”

Thanks for allowing me to share a piece of my world with you this month.  Don’t forget to show someone LOVE throughout your day and I hope that God has spoken to you in some form or fashion along the way.

Be blessed and thanks again,

Christy