Lessons

Wow! I haven't posted one blog post this whole semester! It's been a whirlwind of 20 credits and putting the most effort into my grades as I ever have. However, there is one big lesson that sticks out from this semester and year that I'd love to share with you.

The most prominent lessons I've learned this year comes from John 15. Verse 1-5 say,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." 

Now, obviously, there are many lessons and talking points that can be extracted from this passage. The bolded sections are what God has emphasized in my life this year. 

Firstly, He prunes so that we can be more fruitful. Slowly and painfully, He cuts away parts of us that don't look like him. If you ask any of the girls on my floor last year, they will tell you that I was very far from being a kind person this time last year. It has been quite a journey to trust God to take away my pride, bitterness, and hatred towards people. Over time He has replaced that with His unfailing love. It's the most shocking and incredible feeling when you instantly feel love for people that you either don't even know or really dislike. This can only be from God. 

Secondly, we must remain in Him. He is in us and calls us to remain in Him. It's the place we belong and it's the only place of restoration and peace. The world wears on us more than we initially realize, and remaining in Him is the only solution. When life becomes really hard, there are two choices. Try to fix it and wallow in human efforts, or remain in Him. When my grandma passed away in November, remaining in Him was literally the only reason I got through. You eventually get to a point where talking about it with people and trying to figure out how to feel better just don't work. I learned that worship is choice and it is the perfect reaction for every situation. I started off singing words that seemed so far away from where I was, but when the choice is made to turn towards Him, healing begins.

Lastly, apart from Him we can do nothing. Everything we have is because He allowed is to have it. Everything we do is made possible by Him. Thankfulness is the only response to this.