Roses of Grace

I don't like waiting.  Can you relate? You probably can—we humans have an acute sense of what we want, and we don't like having to wait to get it.  As I write this, I'm a senior in high school. I'm at that weird transition stage where I don't really know what my future's going to look like, but there's nothing I can do about it right now—all I can do is wait for information from the colleges I applied to. I can't make my own decisions yet.  Isaiah 40:31 says that "those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength." I'm waiting on the Lord pretty literally when it comes to college—but I'm also waiting on the Lord for other things.  I'm waiting for him to act in specific ways in specific areas. For people I've been praying for to be saved. For mental struggles I've been praying to conquer. For life events that haven't happened yet, even though I wish they had. For strength in certain areas I'm lacking in.  But I...

Have you ever been scared? Well even I know the answer to that. Yes. Everyone on this earth has been scared at one point in their lives.  You know what it is like when you are scared. You get nervous, sad, angry, or depressed, but most always you feel helpless. The truth is, though, you basically are. You can’t control things or manipulate it to turn out how you want it to.  Though if you are Christian like me, you know someone who can. God controls how things turn out. That is pretty calming. At least for me. Isaiah says it pretty well: "Do not be afraid, for I am with you." (Isaiah 43:5)   Now let me ask you another question. Have you ever been through scary or hard circumstances? The answer again is yes. Everyone has been through at least one circumstance where they were scared. I have for sure.  Last year I struggled with anxiety badly. Every day was spent fretting and every night spent fearing.  It took almost a whole year until I would not become anxious a...