The Power of His Love

As many girls in this world do, I have always struggled with confidence and self-esteem. I feel as though I spent most of my life searching in all the wrong places for self-worth and somewhere to belong. No matter how much I searched, however, all I ever found was emptiness. From the outside, people may have seen a nice Christian girl who had it all together, with her life and her relationship with God, but that was never really the case. Although I have always had a longing in my heart for a close relationship with God, the times when I actually did feel close to Him were limited, especially after I graduated from high school. When I decided to be a missionary, I was terrified. I did not feel, in any type of way, worthy enough to represent God for 10 whole months, or at all really. People told me that I should start praying about my missionary year but, for some reason, I couldn't find the courage to do so. The only thing I did was procrastinate and make excuses. When I left the airport, bound for a new country, I had no idea what was waiting for me. That was five months ago, and the change that has occurred inside of me is the best thing I have ever experienced in my entire life. The truth is, I wasn't worthy, and I'm still not. God, however, is so amazing that He chose to look beyond all of my imperfections and unworthiness, and He has turned my life around. From day 1, my only choice was to rely completely on God because I knew that there was no way I would be able to accomplish anything on my own. Through my reliance on God, I have learned to love as He loves and I have a passion for Him that I've never had before. As my love for God has increased, so has my love for myself. I realize now that I am worth so much more than I ever believed I could be. Not because I think I am a good person, but because I serve a God who is perfect in every way and He loved me enough to create me in His image! How amazing is it, that the creator of the universe would take the time to create each and every one of us in His image? I wish, more than anything, that we would all take the time to truly seek God and rely on Him to show us how valuable we really are. 2015 is over and, as the new year has begun, I decided not to make any resolutions. This does not mean that I have no desire to make my life better this year, because I do. It simply means that I want God to take complete control of my life and make the changes that need to be made. The power of God's love has turned my life around in only 5 months. I cannot wait to see what He will do with the rest of my life.