MY 🔝 🔟 GUIDELINES FOR FACEBOOK

It's hard  but I try to stick to this as well.

1. Be genuine in photos and wording. No need to pretend like life is perfect or use pictures that do not in any way depict the message of the caption.

2. Celebrate those nice moments that people share or post, instead of being cynical or critical all the time.

3. Only share something that has been confirmed true from multiple sources. Too many people wanting to be the first to share "breaking news" 📰 or spread "heart-breaking" 💔 news.

4. Unfollow people that consistently post things that cause you to compare, become anxious or feel bad about your own life. Also unfollow people that are overly critical of others’ religion or culture.

5. Do your own research. Read different opinions and sides of a story, consult various sources, verify every information. Don’t rely on only a certain media outlet to find the truth.

6. It's 🆗 to talk politics, but aim for intelligent political thought and civil discussion.

7. If you must talk religion, use thoughtful words with a gentle attitude and have an understanding perspective.

8. If  you disagree with something you read, scroll past it silently. Should you want to reply, do so with an open mind. Mutual understanding is hard to achieve over social media.

9. Don’t be quick to pass judgment on others’ stories and allegations. To call someone a liar about a serious situation is unwise. Better to be a careful listener and fair judge than a foolish finger-pointer.

10. Aim to uplift people and aim to challenge others to rise above all the yuck on social media.

It is Well, Really

Today, my Playlist randomly picked that old hymn, “it is well with my soul” (albeit a version by Kristene of Bethel Music 🎶) and it was my first time hearin' the song since a couple of months.

Every time I have heard that song in the past, I’ve intentionally checked out. It’s the song that more than any other holds the power to take me to a place the way only a song can; as if I’m really there again - freshly mint graduate 🎓 covered in acne and scared shitless by her own feelin' of confusion.

It would take me half a decade to understand what was goin' on with me then, that it was completely and utterly normal, every feelin' of grief I had at the time, includin' relief. So normal. But I didn’t know it. I loathed myself and I loathed the world for movin' on without me. Loathin' was all I knew.

This gorgeous old song transported me to a time so enveloped in despair it actually suffocated me. Then today I’m layin' in bed when I hear that familiar tune and without a single thought in my head I found myself runnin' towards the sound rather than away. I found myself now sittin' while the song played on and lettin' every note wash over me, every word sinkin' deeply into my bein'

And there in that moment, I was good. I felt so good. Oblivious of my thoughts 💭 in the last few minutes. The only feelin' in that moment was one of the deepest gratitude because I’m finally at a place in my life where I actually relate to those words, “it is well with my soul.” It really truly is. I am deeply and completely at peace from head to toe. And nothin' could be more than that. Because it has absolutely nothin' to do with “time healin' all wounds.” That’s not even a true sentiment.

To work your way from undone and alone and terrified and clueless to pure delight in life itself. That’s the warrior’s journey. It is not time that makes things okay deep in our souls. It is the great work of God in our lives. It’s toilin' and tendin' and survivin' and blood, sweat, and tears. It is the path of a brave warrior.

If you’re at despair today, I want you to know there’s hope, so much hope. You are not alone and this cloud 🌥 won’t always be there. It shall pass!

Someday, someday soon, the showers of grace will rain down on you and will make everythin' new again. That pain may never be transformed into somethin' painless. It will most likely always hurt. But you’ll teach yourself to tend to the pain. It’s not anybody else’s duty to help you move past what’s so personal to you. Eventually all that tendin' and toilin' will lead you to wellness. A wellness so deep and so real and so true it’s indescribable except to sing, “it is well with my soul.”

HIS PRESENCE

Several months ago, I was so angry and disillusioned with God. I had to basically drag myself to church, where I always sat with my arms crossed, stood with my heart hardened, not singing a note, and not liftin' a finger in worship. I didn’t even open my Bible for several weeks. Anxiety had set in. Thankfully, a heart and attitude change finally happened.


Before then, there was a particular moment I could never forget. As I was singin' with the choir at church, I was suddenly overwhelmed at the unmatched depth of true love our Saviour has for us. In the times I was upset, He was patient with me. In the times I groaned, He listened and comforted me. In the times where I questioned Him, He stayed steadfast with His arms open.


See, the very thing I was tryin' to avoid was the very thing I should have been runnin' to - His presence. In my despair, I crawled there. In my anger, I took my heaviness there. In my emptiness, I found strength there.


Whatever you are dealin' with, get to His presence. Run there. Limp there, if you must. Ask someone to carry you there. Just get there. You may not get all the answers you’re seeking, but there is healin' and wholeness there. There is love there. There is peace there. There is joy there. There is strength for each day and hope for tomorrow there.

Just go to His presence and bloom!