The Comfort Courtyard

Lately, I have been questioning my thoughts and reframing as necessary.

For Example…

Old thought: I really want to be a good Christian. I want to trust in God’s timing for my life (career, marriage, kids, promotion, financial increase) and never doubt that He is good. 

New thought: Being a good Christian does not mean I will never doubt God. Being a good Christian does not mean I will always like God’s answers to my questions and prayers. Being a good Christian, to me, means I will keep talking to God, leaning into His word, and waiting on guidance from the Holy Spirit especially when I am weary.

As I began improving my thought patterns, I noticed I had a lot of concerns. Concerns I believe our generation shares. 

Overall I believe our generation is empathetic. We are a generation who cares deeply about loving our neighbors and standing for justice. We are creative problem solvers and efficiency seekers. We are culture celebrators and community builders.

We also have our fair share of valid concerns. Allow me to list a few:

Financial security, rising housing costs, food quality, balancing living and working in a digital age with its effects on our mental and social health, building fruitful friendships, a desire for independence backed by a strong work ethic but work force we cannot seem to find our way into, loneliness, finding a romantic match authentically in a digital age, uncertainty, and the divisiveness of individuality.

I’m sure there is more but you get the overall point.

As I thought about all of the issues I listed above, on top of my career, pursuing a graduate school, having a family, owning property, maintaining good mental health and taking care of my physical health I inevitably became overwhelmed. I began to attach these milestones to an “acceptable” timeline. As I planned my 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond the Lord sweetly whispered to me “what are you doing”. Frustrated, I replied “planning”. And God in His patient and gracious manner dropped this question into my spirit.

Are you living as if you won’t live again?

I paused, really giving God’s question thought. Am I living as if I won’t live again? Am I impatient? Is the long road daunting because I am racing against my earthly body? What is 20,30,80 years to the eternity I am bound to spend with Christ? What life lessons and love speaking opportunities am I missing because of my misconception of time?

Maybe you’re asking yourself the same.

Since I am in the middle of this lesson right now, I do not have any advice to share, but I would like to offer some questions for reflection. 

Reflection Questions:

List 3 thoughts you need to reframe. Write the old thought and the new thought.

People dismiss career paths and routes to the grocery store because of time. While there is a time and a place for efficiency, are you short cutting your experiences on earth as if you will not live again? Write three situations when you chose the easy or faster way. Think about if your choice was good, or if you were short cutting your experiences on earth.

Are you ready for God’s version of Esther or Moses’ giants for you? In what ways do you still have maturing to do? List 3 positive habits you want God to grow in you. List 3 negative habits you want God to remove from your character. 

This month’s challenge:

Have you ever become so sidetracked with the issues in front of you, you lose sight of where God is? Write down 1 concern you have about the future. As you reflect on the concern, create a thought map on your paper. Write down everything which comes to mind. Every 5-10 minutes open your Bible and find a scripture for your concern. 

An example:

Loneliness-being alone- feeling unloved-not having community

The main concern is Loneliness  (Psalms 68:6)

• God word says we have the Holy Spirit we are never alone (John 14:26)
• Since we are not alone, we should make it a habit to pray/talk to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to guide us
• God word also says it is not good for us to be alone (Genesis 218, Hebrews 10:25)
• Since it is not good for us to be alone, we should ask God to guide us to the right community for us. We should try different young adult groups. We should try to find community groups for our hobbies like knitting, reading or motorcycle clubs. 

The reason I created this blog was to foster community among young adults. The Lord placed this project on my heart as a way to encourage His children and combat the loneliness our generation is facing. I hope our first Issue of The Comfort Courtyard has left you feeling loved and encouraged.