freedom :)

Philippians 3:7-9
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Jeremiah 10:23
I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.

I find a common theme in all these verses... a theme that I am being refined through each day by God's grace. Every year of my life in college has had a theme. Sometimes it's different every semester... sometimes it takes me much longer to learn. And even when I think I've learned it well, I soon discover that I still have so much to learn. Being put through this refining process has been so hard, beautiful, exciting, scary, heartbreaking, and any other emotion you can come up with it. But at the end of the day, it has been totally worth it.

Isaiah 29:16
Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"?

Jeremiah 18:3-6
So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

I want to be the kind of clay that allows the Potter to shape and bold. I don't want to be stubborn, holding fast to what I know and what I think is best. HE is Sovereign. My life is HIS. If my life doesn't belong to me, then who am I to say, "God, why are you doing this to me? You should have left me the way I was. I was living for you; I was bringing You glory. I was doing everything I was supposed to do. WHY do you want to change me? I'm fine just the way I am." Honestly, I would be totally ignorant if that's what I said. I would be ignorant of how weak and inadequate I am without the saving grace of my King. I would be so ignorant to think I have it all together and that I'm fine the way I am. I'm not. I am NOT okay the way I am. I'm finally in the place where I WANT to be stripped of everything that is Rebecca and to be molded and shaped into something that looks more like Christ. And through it all, I'm learning this:

Philippians 1:27
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ

No matter WHAT happens. No matter how I'm feeling. No matter what's making me sad. No matter what I'm upset about. No matter what's not going my way, I am supposed to live in a manner that is worthy of His grace. WOW. I'm not worthy of His grace... not at all. But I'm supposed to live in a way that honors His name and shows people what He did. Talk about a tall order... by myself. But my life is hidden with Christ. I've been crucified. I don't live, but Christ lives in me. THAT'S how I can live a life worthy of Christ... through Him who is at work in me.

These truths make living life so much easier. They give me purpose for waking up in the morning. And even when hurts come creeping back in my mind and when memories consume me, I just need to call His word into my mind and dwell on those things.

Philippians 3:13-14
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.