Understanding And Bearing
UAB: The first three letters of this week’s post but also the first 3 letters of my new school, the University of Alabama-Birmingham. I’m so excited to start this new journey on August 28. This has been a transforming summer for me. I’ve rediscovered and strengthened my relationship with God.
This point last year, I was a disaster! Anxiety had taken over every part of me. Fear had come in. Thoughts like “what if I don’t do well in school?”, “What about the next phase of my life?”, and many other things. I was so obsessed with making perfect grades, planning MY life for the next six to ten years. These thoughts swirled in my head for months, even into early 2017. I was trying to force things to go MY way. I got to the point that I just wanted to be isolated. I wasn’t enjoying life.
In March, I started attending a college group called SUB25, part of Gardendale First Baptist Church. I felt God saying, “I am taking you here. Trust me!” I didn’t know anyone from GFBC and was very nervous. I felt welcomed by everyone and thought it was so cool to see other college students going to church. As I attended college worship and lifegroups every Thursday night, I started to feel that my relationship with God began to streghthen. During the Spring semester, I read through my first book in the Bible, John. As I was finishing up, I was getting ready to graduate from Wallace State Community College. Again, I started making MY six year plans. The day after graduation, I had a moment of complete surrender. I prayed that God would take my life in His hands and do what HE wants. I told Him I would trust wherever HE leads me. Honestly, it was hard to say, “Here are my hope and dreams. You can have them.” I said that and meant it! God’s ways are higher than MY ways.
God started working in my life!
One day in late May, within two hours, I had been asked to teach/assistant teach in 2 VBS’s in the same week! VBS was fun as always. Even though the themes designed to teach kids, I found God teaching ME through the same lessons. At Gardendale, I learned about discovering the God of the universe. God had a plan to restore the broken relationship with man. He sent Jesus to die on the cross! I learned that God is in complete control of everything in the universe, including me. At Cleveland, I learned about running the race (our lives) for Jesus. We are called to serve God and love people. The one question that came up was “I am willing to give up everything for God?” A habit I started when preparing for VBS was having a notbook beside me when I studied the VBS curriculum to take notes on what I thought were the important points to share with the kids. The “habit” stuck with me. After VBS, I started reading through books in the New Testament. I bought a notebook the size of my Bible and started taking notes on what I read and what God was telling me. In late July, I started helping out in the kid’s ministry at GFBC. Missionz With Noe began. It is a segment that I do during kidz worship that shows missionaries from here and across the world.
This past summer, my relationship with God has become more important than anything else!
Understanding: Going into this year, I understand that I am not perfect. I understand that having a 4.0 GPA is not what I need to live for. I understand that I have talents and ambitions, but that I should not focus all my energy into what I want to do. God knows my path and He will reveal it to me in His time. I understand that God will provide, even when it doesn’t seem like He will. I understand that I should not quit, give out on God when it looks like He won’t provide. He always takes care of those who love Him. I understand that if I give God everything I have for as long as I live, everything is going to work out according to His Will. I TRUST that only HE can truly take away my anxiety issues!
Bearing: I’ve been so inspired by SUB25. I feel that I have more boldness for standing up for what I truly believe in. In this world that’s “going down the tubes”, I feel that now, more than ever, I need to stand up for God. I do this by obeying, following, and being a light to the world. My life needs to bear the gospel. When someone looks at me, I don’t want them to first think of me as a NASCAR fan, an weatherman, or anything else. I want the first thought of me to be Noe: Child of the One True, Undefeated King. My goal for this upcoming school year, and life itself, is to share with people what I believe in and why. It is not to make perfect grades, it is not to live for my “dream job”, it is not to live for the things I CAN’T control.
God has used the summer of 2017 to teach me, to grow me, and to get me ready for what I feel is something BIG! Bring it on!
This point last year, I was a disaster! Anxiety had taken over every part of me. Fear had come in. Thoughts like “what if I don’t do well in school?”, “What about the next phase of my life?”, and many other things. I was so obsessed with making perfect grades, planning MY life for the next six to ten years. These thoughts swirled in my head for months, even into early 2017. I was trying to force things to go MY way. I got to the point that I just wanted to be isolated. I wasn’t enjoying life.
In March, I started attending a college group called SUB25, part of Gardendale First Baptist Church. I felt God saying, “I am taking you here. Trust me!” I didn’t know anyone from GFBC and was very nervous. I felt welcomed by everyone and thought it was so cool to see other college students going to church. As I attended college worship and lifegroups every Thursday night, I started to feel that my relationship with God began to streghthen. During the Spring semester, I read through my first book in the Bible, John. As I was finishing up, I was getting ready to graduate from Wallace State Community College. Again, I started making MY six year plans. The day after graduation, I had a moment of complete surrender. I prayed that God would take my life in His hands and do what HE wants. I told Him I would trust wherever HE leads me. Honestly, it was hard to say, “Here are my hope and dreams. You can have them.” I said that and meant it! God’s ways are higher than MY ways.
God started working in my life!
One day in late May, within two hours, I had been asked to teach/assistant teach in 2 VBS’s in the same week! VBS was fun as always. Even though the themes designed to teach kids, I found God teaching ME through the same lessons. At Gardendale, I learned about discovering the God of the universe. God had a plan to restore the broken relationship with man. He sent Jesus to die on the cross! I learned that God is in complete control of everything in the universe, including me. At Cleveland, I learned about running the race (our lives) for Jesus. We are called to serve God and love people. The one question that came up was “I am willing to give up everything for God?” A habit I started when preparing for VBS was having a notbook beside me when I studied the VBS curriculum to take notes on what I thought were the important points to share with the kids. The “habit” stuck with me. After VBS, I started reading through books in the New Testament. I bought a notebook the size of my Bible and started taking notes on what I read and what God was telling me. In late July, I started helping out in the kid’s ministry at GFBC. Missionz With Noe began. It is a segment that I do during kidz worship that shows missionaries from here and across the world.
This past summer, my relationship with God has become more important than anything else!
Understanding: Going into this year, I understand that I am not perfect. I understand that having a 4.0 GPA is not what I need to live for. I understand that I have talents and ambitions, but that I should not focus all my energy into what I want to do. God knows my path and He will reveal it to me in His time. I understand that God will provide, even when it doesn’t seem like He will. I understand that I should not quit, give out on God when it looks like He won’t provide. He always takes care of those who love Him. I understand that if I give God everything I have for as long as I live, everything is going to work out according to His Will. I TRUST that only HE can truly take away my anxiety issues!
Bearing: I’ve been so inspired by SUB25. I feel that I have more boldness for standing up for what I truly believe in. In this world that’s “going down the tubes”, I feel that now, more than ever, I need to stand up for God. I do this by obeying, following, and being a light to the world. My life needs to bear the gospel. When someone looks at me, I don’t want them to first think of me as a NASCAR fan, an weatherman, or anything else. I want the first thought of me to be Noe: Child of the One True, Undefeated King. My goal for this upcoming school year, and life itself, is to share with people what I believe in and why. It is not to make perfect grades, it is not to live for my “dream job”, it is not to live for the things I CAN’T control.
God has used the summer of 2017 to teach me, to grow me, and to get me ready for what I feel is something BIG! Bring it on!
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