Change Is Good

Hey there readers! I am currently in my senior year at Meredith College studying Psychology and Social Work, and soon enough I will be joining the workforce… yikes. Following graduation, I plan to partake in an internship with hopes of gaining more experience in my career field before going to graduate school. I am actually quite excited for the next chapter of my life to begin, but it still seems wild to think that I am an “adult” that will soon have a lot more adult responsibilities. I would like to think that I am ready to go out into the world and take care of myself, but if I am being honest change is a scary thing.

Before I came to college, I had sort of a different mindset. I thought that I was invincible - well kind of. I was excited to take on the new challenges that came along with going to college such as living in a new city, being away from family, making new friends, and doing well in school. "I am a strong and independent woman," I remembering thinking to myself. That mindset might have seemed good at that time, but little did I know, I wasn't as equipped as I thought to take on these new challenges. The thing that I was missing was my desire to put the Lord on the throne of my life.

I have grown up in a Christian household, and I accepted Christ as my Savior at a young age. However, I didn't fully give my life over to God until my first year of college. When I was in high school, I was putting other relationships and things before God. Sure, I felt some sort of satisfaction from those things, but I had always felt like something was missing. Once I got to college, my roommate, that is also a Christian, encouraged me to go to Bible Study with her. At first, I was a bit hesitant to go because I thought that I might be judged for not living the way that I should be, but I decided to go anyways. Despite my unsure expectations, I was welcomed into this family of believers with open arms. Thankfully, not only did she encourage me to keep going to Bible Study, but she also encouraged me to get involved with a local campus ministry. As I continued to grow in my community of believers, God began using those people to pour godly wisdom into my life.

I had come to the realization that God was and is the only person or "thing" that can fully satisfy me because of His unconditional and everlasting love. Even though I had not always been pursuing a relationship with Him, He has and is always pursuing a relationship with me. He has so graciously forgiven me for my sins, and I am so thankful for the unconditional love of the Father. Giving my life over to Christ was the best decision I have ever made, and it changed my life for the better.

In Psalm 145: 8, it says that the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. No matter what you have done, God loves you and will forgive you. We are all beloved children of God. His grace is unending. His mercy is everlasting. His love is endless. I believe these things with all of my heart. In the picture above, you can see that I got a tattoo this past year that says "beloved" as a constant reminder that we are all dearly loved children of God.

With love,

Courtney