SERVING
I am currently on break from college for about 4 weeks and I did NOT want to come home for Christmas.
Now you're probably thinking, "A college student not wanting to go home for Christmas?? What is wrong with this girl?"
Now don't misunderstand me...my family is not the reason I did not want to come home. They are WONDERFUL and I enjoy spending time with them. I love my family very much!
Let me explain:
This past year I made the decision to join the Trinity Bible College program PackYourBags, as you know. It just so happens that Trinity Bible College is in my hometown of Ellendale, ND. I live in a dorm that is literally 3 blocks from my front door. But for about a year and a half my dad has been working in a city 2 and a half hours away from Ellendale called Bismarck and my parents were making the separation work because my dad adores his job.
Before I went to college, they made the decision to move to Bismarck, which was an amazing decision! My family is happy in Bismarck and it is a cute city to live in.
Now about me not wanting to go home. "Home" is not how I feel when I am here in Bismarck...which is understandable because I live in Ellendale, which is where I almost always have lived.
I have to admit that I had a pretty sucky attitude about coming home for Christmas. I did NOT want to come here and be AWAY from my home and my PackYourBags family and all of my close friends. As I sulked more and more (all while packing my suitcase for the trip home), I snapped myself out of it. I basically slapped myself in the face and told myself, "If you're going to be like this the whole time, your family is not going to have a good holiday and you aren't either." Then another voice came into my mind, saying softly,
"Serve them."
God moves in extraordinary ways and I have gotten much better at hearing His voice in my life this semester. But this idea definitely did not excite me from the beginning. I did not want to do laundry and dishes and help clean and make...life easier for my parents...and love my sister more. See where I'm going with this?
As I thought about the idea of serving, I continually came up with the response of "How could I not?" I am currently not employed and my parents and sister are still working and going to school while I am at home most days alone (which I do not mind, by the way...alone time is nice). But if I just sit around like a bum and do not contribute to my parents well-being by serving them wholeheartedly, I am not being a good daughter to them, and in turn, not being a good daughter to my heavenly Father.
God has called me to use this time that was originally going to be a pity party, to serve others and glorify Him in the process.
If you are having a hard time this Christmas with situations or certain friends or family members, think about who or how God wants you to serve.
It is really hard for me to wake up with a bad attitude during this holiday knowing that whatever I do to help puts smiles on my family's faces, helps take a load off of their day, and shows God that I am listening to His call for me in this moment.
Do you know what else is amazing? The more I serve and help in this little apartment my family has, the more it feels like home to me. God has a plan for your life this Christmas...don't let your bad attitude make you miss it, like I almost did.
<3
Now you're probably thinking, "A college student not wanting to go home for Christmas?? What is wrong with this girl?"
Now don't misunderstand me...my family is not the reason I did not want to come home. They are WONDERFUL and I enjoy spending time with them. I love my family very much!
Let me explain:
This past year I made the decision to join the Trinity Bible College program PackYourBags, as you know. It just so happens that Trinity Bible College is in my hometown of Ellendale, ND. I live in a dorm that is literally 3 blocks from my front door. But for about a year and a half my dad has been working in a city 2 and a half hours away from Ellendale called Bismarck and my parents were making the separation work because my dad adores his job.
Before I went to college, they made the decision to move to Bismarck, which was an amazing decision! My family is happy in Bismarck and it is a cute city to live in.
Now about me not wanting to go home. "Home" is not how I feel when I am here in Bismarck...which is understandable because I live in Ellendale, which is where I almost always have lived.
I have to admit that I had a pretty sucky attitude about coming home for Christmas. I did NOT want to come here and be AWAY from my home and my PackYourBags family and all of my close friends. As I sulked more and more (all while packing my suitcase for the trip home), I snapped myself out of it. I basically slapped myself in the face and told myself, "If you're going to be like this the whole time, your family is not going to have a good holiday and you aren't either." Then another voice came into my mind, saying softly,
"Serve them."
God moves in extraordinary ways and I have gotten much better at hearing His voice in my life this semester. But this idea definitely did not excite me from the beginning. I did not want to do laundry and dishes and help clean and make...life easier for my parents...and love my sister more. See where I'm going with this?
As I thought about the idea of serving, I continually came up with the response of "How could I not?" I am currently not employed and my parents and sister are still working and going to school while I am at home most days alone (which I do not mind, by the way...alone time is nice). But if I just sit around like a bum and do not contribute to my parents well-being by serving them wholeheartedly, I am not being a good daughter to them, and in turn, not being a good daughter to my heavenly Father.
God has called me to use this time that was originally going to be a pity party, to serve others and glorify Him in the process.
If you are having a hard time this Christmas with situations or certain friends or family members, think about who or how God wants you to serve.
It is really hard for me to wake up with a bad attitude during this holiday knowing that whatever I do to help puts smiles on my family's faces, helps take a load off of their day, and shows God that I am listening to His call for me in this moment.
Do you know what else is amazing? The more I serve and help in this little apartment my family has, the more it feels like home to me. God has a plan for your life this Christmas...don't let your bad attitude make you miss it, like I almost did.
<3
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