katHello people! Long time no see! I took a bit of a break from the blog last month and focused solely on spreading the gospel via social media.
Last week was ‘Giving Glory to God’ month at my church. For the entire month of October we focus everyday on giving glory to God. This can be anything from singing worship songs, exercising, baking a cake, playing games with family or friends, etc.! Giving glory to God has no limits. Anything can be glory to God so long as it is rooted in God’s love and law. It’s such a beautiful month for my church where we can self-reflect and offer our thanksgiving to God for everything he’s done for us.
I am so thankful to God for everything he’s done for me this year.
At the end of the month everything culminated in a giving glory show! This is by no means just any kind of talent show where we show off or put on performances for an audience. No, our audience is the Lord Jesus; it is God, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Son. We revel in loving God through dance, song, rap, poetry, and theatrical performances.
It was such a beautiful time. You might ask why prepare such big performances if God already loves us as we are? Why go through such trouble? My spiritual mentor has taught us the value of giving glory to God, the importance of it, and the blessings it can bestow upon all of us.
For one, through giving glory we are able to transform ourselves and use our talents for God. Before becoming a member of my church I enjoyed singing, dancing, and writing but it was never used to give glory to God-but to give glory to others and myself. It wasn’t rooted in God, truth, or used for a greater, loving purpose.
Through my church I’ve been able to hone my skills and become a greater dancer, writer, and singer. None of us have been professionally trained, but some might think we have been given the high level of detail and effort we put into our glory.
Through working together alongside others I’m also able to refine my character. Giving glory to God together requires teamwork, understanding, communication, and love. It requires a unique understanding of each other’s values and differences. The process is like putting myself through fire and coming out as pure gold; like putting myself through immense pressure and coming out a diamond. My glory becomes purer and purer everyday and every year of life.
Why am I writing about this? Because as the years pass (I’ve been an avid believer in Christ for the last three years of my life now and I intend to continue believing until the end) every year we give glory to God, I reminisce on my previous years and become nostalgic thinking about all the great glory that is yet to take place in the house of the Lord. I think about how when I’m old and my back hurts (lol) I’ll look back at these moments-whether through pictures or in stories we tell or in memories- and I will remember how earnestly I’ve loved the Lord with all my heart. I hope they will be an eternal testimony to the world that the Lord is true and he taught us well. That even after all the members of my church have passed; these will be the testimonies to inspire generations. We were the roots of the Lord’s church and this time is precious, beyond what can even be shown or described, though I try.
Our glory to God event this year took place at Camp Cho Yeh, at a retreat that was so beautiful! I had the best time enjoying time with my brothers and sisters and growing closer to them.
If there’s anything I realized through that time is how important it is to take time to recharge and spend time in fellowship and community. Spending time with fellow believers is essential! We all need people to uplift us and hold us accountable in our faith journey.
For the first time in a long time, I felt true, profound happiness. I felt at peace and connected with the Lord, His people, His creation. After my grandmother passed, I thought it might be a while before I felt ok again. Even though I felt happy knowing my grandmother went to Heaven, and although I was thankful for everything the Lord has done-I was still mourning and grieving everything that happened. I never had time to process before.
After my grandmother passed I spent many nights wondering what could’ve gone different, reliving my last moments with my grandma, what I could’ve done to elongate my grandmother’s life, feeling guilty for everything I failed to do for or with my grandma. Our time together was so short after we reunited, but it was just enough to fulfill the Lord’s purpose.
So for a long time, I went to church and I smiled but deep down I was deeply wounded. However, nothing or no one could heal those wounds but the Lord. Nobody could understand my pain or resolve the grief.
However, slowly but surely I started finding true, everlasting peace with everything that had happened.
I stopped waking up with a sense of hopelessness and guilt. I started waking up with greater conviction in God’s promises, and with acceptance towards how things unfolded.
So to anyone feeling immense grief in their heart; just know there time really does heal everything. Please have hope that a beautiful future is coming. God will bless you. Just as the rain shines on you, so will the sun. The rain will only help you grow deeper roots of faith in the Lord. Just read Matthew 5:4,
“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.”
The Lord is saying this to you. Trust comfort and joy will come after the tribulation. There are certain things all humans must experience, most of all death and grieving, in order to understand the essence of God-who far surpasses all human limits and pain.
Finally, I wanted to make a brief comment about how BIG but how SMALL our worlds truly are. This year I’ve bumped into so many people from my past. It’s quite insane. My pastor taught me we are all connected through our souls so I think it makes sense but sometimes I’m so flabbergasted by the timing of everything. I hope to keep bumping and meeting up with some pretty awesome people. I think they serve as reminders of all the people we’ve touched or been influenced by. All those who’ve helped us and shaped us.
To a future full of realizations, giving glory to God, and being a part of this amazing experience called life!
God’s beloved, Kat <3
