A Reason to Love

"Meeting new people is like finding a new way to love a person."

I made this quote myself because lately God has been placing so many new people in my life. While meeting all these people, I've had the time to really reflect on His plan for me and how it's all supposed to play out. In this time period, I sat down one night and talked with some friends about this. My love for people is endless and getting people to see my love for them is probably one of the most frustrating tasks I've ever had. How do you show a person your love for them when you can't put it into words and you can barely find the actions? Honestly, my love for my friends and people is truly indescribable and nothing can amount to the intensity I have for those who hold my heart. It's weird because I think my friends will never understand how much I love and care about them, but in a way, I'm quite content and frustrated with it at the same time. It makes me happy to know that I will spend a lifetime loving these people and finding all the ways possible to show them how much I really do love them. This part of life is beautiful and I can't wait to live it out.

Meeting new people is so interesting because you find different ways to love their differences and their similarities. In this sense, I feel like I'm discovering a new side of love because you have to find ways in which you can love all the imperfections and just everything about a person. Peeling back all the layers and discovering everything about a person is just so beautiful because you see their capability to love and live. I hope you're ready to live and love because life won't be anything until you learn to do both.

In true reality, it's all our imperfections that make us perfect.

iTune Into Him

So this past weekend I had the opportunity to spend my last high school retreat ever with my Youth Group with the theme being Music. As the weekend progressed, it slowly came to my attention that "This is it. This is seriously my Senior Year. This is my last retreat for awhile." Coming into the retreat, I promised myself that I would make an impact on the Youth Group so that the next generation of students in the church would become leaders themselves and take care of the Youth Group in our place.

It's just crazy to think that I went on almost all the retreats from my Freshman Year until now and how much has changed and how many people are gone now. However, throughout the retreat experience, I did grow in my faith and grew closer to some new and old friends. Especially at night, I had really deep conversations with friends.

Many told me that I've done an awesome job so far at changing the world and that I've treated everyone with equal respect. Despite not even knowing some of these people personally, it was truly touching to know that I was making an impact on people even without directly talking to them. Not only that, a new friend I made told me, "I can't believe this is your last retreat. I just met you and you're seriously an awesome guy. You have to come down when you're on break at college." It seriously just hit home because all these people were expressing to me how much I was making a difference in their lives through my faith and through my anti-bullying movement. For me, I kinda just shook off the complements because honestly I felt like I haven't done enough. I know I can do better and I know can contribute more to this world. But in the end, I do appreciate all the support and kind words from everyone. It's good to know that I'm doing something right and that I'm making an impact on all these people's lives.

When I'm in college looking back at all my time spent at church, it's going to be great to know that I had such a supportive community that was always there for me when I wasn't always there for them. I'm never going to forget all the laughs, friends, and memories made.

My faith has made me who I am and I will live my faith out loud as I prepare to enter a new chapter of my life with God.

Time is Ticking

As time is quickly flying by, my time here in Coweta County is slowly diminishing. I know deep down inside of me that it's time for a new life in Birmingham, but I'm not sure I'm ready. Everyone around tells me that they're ready to graduate and I agree, but the people who aren't graduating don't understand how big of a life transition this is.

Honestly, I don't know where I belong in this world and I don't know what God wants of me. So many times I confuse my own selfish desires and pursuits that come into conflict with God's plan. It doesn't make me doubt but it shows me that God has something better else for me. For me, Coweta County is such a great area but I know it's not for me. My heart isn't here. I don't know where my heart is. I don't know where I exactly belong yet.

This is why me moving to Birmingham is going to be an interesting experience. Maybe God has called me to do medical research, change the lives of people through the Global & Community Leadership Honors Program, and maybe start a religious revival in Birmingham.

I don't know what I'm going to do when I leave all my friends behind me.

I just have to trust God that He will keep them in my life and allow for new people to come into my life as well.

Honestly, it's because of my friends that I get through the day. I don't know what I'd do without them. From Facebook posts, to text messages, to Twitter, to in person conversations, these people give me hope and remind me that I'm doing something right and that God is continuously at work through me. I'm truly blessed.

We ALL Worship One Beautiful God

Moments

"It's moments like these that I wish I could hold onto forever."

Sometimes I wish I could live in the moments where the world is at peace and I'm at an equilibrium between my mental, physical, and spiritual being with the world and with those around me. It feels like I'm truly happy and that there's not a worry in the world. It's a moment that comes and goes but holds the most meaning to me.

I know deep down that I can't live in these moments forever because life must forward. Not only that, if makes me appreciate life because one good day or moment makes all the sad and frustrating times in the past seem like a blur. We must suffer in order to know happiness. If we never knew pain or sadness, then we could never even begin to understand how much happy times are truly blessings.

Moments may only last a couple of seconds or minutes, but they last forever in the heart and soul of my own.

You Are More To Me Than You Could Ever Imagine

Throughout my life I have met so many amazing people who have gone, who have stayed, and who have slowly drifted away. Nevertheless, I've never been so thankful for all the people that have become a part of my life in some way. Lately I've been meeting a lot of new people and today as I was driving with the windows down, music loud, and stopped at a red light, I really reflected on how God is putting all these people in my life for a reason. I have never loved life so much until now.

Whether I tell people or not, you, my friends, are the reason that I have so much to be thankful for in life. Some people I tell over and over, "You're beautiful. You're perfect. I love you so much. You are my everything. I'm so thankful for you." And the list goes on, but you get my drift. I firmly believe that God is slowly putting together all my broken pieces of who I used to be together into something more beautiful. I've gone through so much in my past life and through my different struggles with depression, family, and my own personal faith journey, but it has only led me closer to God.

Something that has really stuck with me ever since my interview with Chickfila was what the operator told me, "You know, when you meet a person, something clicks and you just know that they're the one." That's how I've been feeling a lot lately. From Cole to Chad to Carly to Brittany to all the other amazing people I've met, I just know that they are the ones to have a large influence on my own life. I will LIVE for these people no matter what. They are the reason why life is so beautiful and that it has so much to offer. I will LIVE for ALL of my friends.

My friends are my life. They are my passion. Nothing will ever stop me from living for these people and defending them.

Please know that whoever is reading this, that You are WORTHY. You are PERFECT. You are BEAUTIFUL. God made you and He made absolutely NO mistakes.

I cannot even begin to express how much you mean to me. You have become a part of my life, my heart, and my soul. Nothing will ever change that. I promise. Nothing. I love you like a love that is indescribable and uncontainable.

I make a promise to you that I will always be here for you no matter what. I make a promise to you that I will never let go of you. I make a promise to you that nothing will ever tear us apart.

I promise to you that I will love you forever and always.