Christ’s love looks different than we expect.

Looking back, when I was little, I thought I’d have life figured out when I was a teenager (well that couldn’t be further from the truth, am I right?). Then when I was in high school, I thought, “I’ll definitely have it all together by the time I graduate college.” I seriously wish I could laugh and say to my 16-year-old self, “Hate to break it to ya Dana, but by the time college graduation comes around, you actually won’t have a single clue what you’re doing with your life. Not. A. Clue.”

“What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” 

This is the question I’m turning over and over in my heart as I enter into this new year. Think about it. What would you try if you knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that you’d succeed?

Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

Isaiah 43:16-19

Waiting, waiting, and more waiting. I think you get the picture. 

You get the picture because you’ve also felt the uncomfortable ache of hopes and desires that have yet to be fulfilled. You’ve felt the tension between where you are and where you desperately want to be. You’ve felt the frustration and confusion of once imagining that your life would follow this perfect little timeline you created in your mind, only to realize that life is actually nothing like what you had imagined or planned. Like for real, years ago your timeline was somehow chucked out the window (against your will, might I add) of a car driving 80 mph and it doesn’t seem like it’s gonna show up any time soon.

Tired of waiting? There’s another way. A MUCH better way.

I know what it feels like.

I know what it feels like to be one of the only people not doing that thing that everyone else (like, literally EVERYONE else) is doing. I know what it feels like to look around at the people at school or on your soccer team or in your dorm and feel just a little out of place. Out of place because the things that everyone calls “normal,” the things they think aren’t a big deal, are actually a pretty big deal to you.

"Here’s what I want you to know: Just because a thought pops into your head, it does NOT automatically make it true. In fact, many of the negative thoughts you think about yourself are false. They are lies, plain and simple. But here’s the thing, if you allow these lies to float around in your mind long enough, you’ll actually start believing them. They’ll begin to chip away at your identity, your true identity in Christ..."

Mother Angelica once said, "I'm not afraid to fail... I'm scared to death of dying and having the Lord say to me, 'Angelica, this is what you might have done had you trusted more.'"

You were made to take chances. So take a deep breath, trust, and take the plunge.

"I’ve now come to understand the damage social media can do to the human heart because I’m experiencing it first hand. What’s been enthusiastically sold to us as an innovation that helps us connect with one another is actually causing many of us to disconnect from the beautiful souls right in front of our faces and ignore the beautiful God who’s trying to speak to us amidst the noise of witty statuses, controversial posts, and viral videos."