Focusing on Improving Yourself to Help Others.

When you can find the beauty in the small blessings that you receive yourself, you'll have the ability to see the beauty through life or even through the people you may encounter through life. You can also have the ability to recognize what's not necessarily good for you.

This may be the first time we've ever come in contact or we've known each other much of our lives already. Whether the first statement is the case or the second, I hope that through your reading of my advice our relationship and connection grows. I am still young in age, only being 20 years old, but I've had some experiences that have allowed me to acquire some knowledge that I would like to share with you. So I hope every post you come across adds a new gem to your life.

Finding Blessing within Confusion

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."- James 1:17.

Sometimes we can get so distracted with everything that goes on around us. Sometimes being distracted by all those things leads us to longing after what we see other people have. Focusing on what another person has or what blessings that appear to be coming their way leads to discouragement of yourself and a loss of focus on what blessings are actually coming your way.

Recognizing your Blessing

Yes, I understand that it's hard to recognize great things coming your way because it may not be at the capacity of somebody else's. Thats when the realization of whatever is for me is for me comes in. God has a specific plan for each person he created, so each person's purpose is not going to be like someone else's. Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." While we're searching through another person's purpose, we lose the fact that God has his very own plan and purpose for you, that is going to be perfectly created for you. The more we seek for satisfaction in someone else's story, the more we'll be faced with rejection and disappointment. But there's always time to switch around that narrative in your life.

Practical Ways to find Blessing in your Life

Focus on the blessing of waking up that morning.

Isaiah 60:1 says, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." The beginning of the day is when the Lord begins his blessings upon us. All of his glory gets put upon us as soon as we open our eyes in the morning. Once we begin to recognize that purpose and blessings begin as soon as we open our eyes, then moving on through the rest of the day and recognizing blessings begins to become easy. Our job, as stated before, is not to create the purpose ourselves, our job is to live everyday to the fullest and allow God to reveal our purpose to us in his timing. Ways that you can live your life to the fullest each day is by making yourself better in different areas each day whether that be working out, educating yourself on a topic of interest, or just making sure your mental health is one step better then it was yesterday. Currently as I'm writing this first blog, the country is in the midst of a pandemic and also a global cry of racial injustice within America. So, during this time when it seems that nothing is going right and everything is going wrong, it may seem the hardest to find purpose. But, specifically for me as an African American young woman, I found some purpose in making my voice be heard against these injustices and also starting this blog to start a new platform in which I can speak on. So blessings and purpose can be found in many ways, even when things seem the most difficult.

Encouragement

I know that much of what I'm saying seems easier said then done, but that's when trust and prayer comes in. It's a constant process that takes time, but the reward of it is all worth it. Knowing that God has a will for your life and is going to orchestrate everything to work out towards that blessing, that should be encouragement enough. His hand being the driving force behind all blessings means that nothing can stop it from happening which leaves you with no reason to worry. Just trust God and do the work necessary to have those blessings and purpose come into fruition. Philippians 4:6-7 , "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."