|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Print This past year yet another reality show, this one called Starting Over, aired on television. The show consists of women who come from different walks of life and share a common goal—they feel a need to “start over” in their lives. They all suffer from broken hearts. Years of hurt that they have harbored inside have resulted in poor self-image, guilt, shame, and many broken relationships. During the months that these women are in the Starting Over house, they are required to confront the situations in their lives that caused them pain. After the women have worked through the situations and started the healing process to become a complete person, they earn the right to “graduate.” Upon leaving the Starting Over house, the women have feelings of self worth, self respect, and of being a complete person. They finally have the chance to start over. Reality TV vs.
Spirituality TV? Years of hurt have caused some of us to build walls and not welcome people into our lives. It seems easier to just avoid people because it will decrease the chances of getting hurt again. We have all dealt with the guilt and shame of bad decisions that we have made in our past, sometimes even on a daily basis. We have faced unforgiveness, whether we were the unforgiving party or have been denied forgiveness from another. At some point in our lives, too, we have all had a broken heart. Many of us are all too familiar with broken relationships. These consist of, but are not limited to, failed marriages, lost friendships, torn or even abusive relationships and losing a loved one to a situation beyond our control. Because of the walls that we build, most people don’t see our hurt. In all reality, they don’t even suspect that we are in pain, when literally we may feel like we are dying inside. …vs. Real Life I’ve decided that in 2005, I am going to Start Over in my own life. I am going to let go of the past hurt and the brokenness in my heart. I deserve to be whole, and I deserve to be happy. By letting go of broken relationships, I’m going to learn to forgive others and to forgive myself. Guilt and shame have no place in my life. No more of the ‘Why does the bad stuff always happen to me?’ way of thinking. With God’s help, I’m going to let go of all of the people and the things that aren’t meant for me. I’m going to let go of all the expectations that I have of how I think my life should be, not dwelling on the bad situations that I’ve had to face in my life. I’m going to trust God with my life and with everything that I have, laying aside all the things that keep me from being closer to Him. I’m going to seek a closer walk with Him. I love Him with all that is in me, but sometimes I feel that is still not enough; I want to love Him even more! I want to let Him continually mold me and shape me, even though at times it may hurt during the refining process. I know that the end result is that I will be more like Him! I want Him to be pleased with my praise, knowing it’s from my heart and not based on conditions. I want Him to be pleased with my actions, with the words that I speak and pleased with the relationships that I choose to have in my life, whether they are simply friendships or romantic relationships. I want to surround myself with positive people and positive things. I want to wait on the Lord. I don’t want to get ahead of Him. I know He has a perfect plan for my life. I want my desires in life to match the ones that He has for me. I want His will to be done in my life! …Leading to Success! God wants the same for all of us. He has called us to be overcomers (Romans 8). He has called us to be complete in Him. Everything that we will ever need can be found in Him. All we have to do is ask! He fixes broken hearts and broken lives. He comforts us through the lonely and painful times and He is a friend to the friendless. His grace is sufficient to cover all guilt and shame. He is the ultimate example of love, an unconditional love at that. Through Him, we can gain self worth, self respect, and we can finally be complete in Him. I hope that in 2005 that we can all find the ability to Start Over in Christ, because the closer we are to Him, the closer we are to being who He called us to be.
ninetyandnine.com © 2005, Melissa Seagren ----- Melissa Seagren is currently living in the frozen tundra, otherwise known as Maine. Along with starting over in 2005, her plans are to travel the world, or at least the continental United States, stopping in New York, Ohio and possibly Mississippi. |
|
contact information: |
