Blessed

I've been a Christian for just over 2 years now. I may be a bit of a cynic, but as I reflect on my life, I realise that I am greatly blessed. Without Christ in my life, I really don't know where I'd be today.

So, here are a few things that He has given me that I'm thankful for:

- I'm need not be caught up in the ins and outs of daily life eg. stressful work, pressing deadlines, relationship problems, unfriendly situations, etc.

- I don't need to have the biggest, best, or fanciest car, gadget, house, clothes, etc.

• "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19
  

- I realise that I don't have to be superman

• "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing." John 15:5

- I don't have to be worried about what others think of me - as long as God loves me, nothing else really matters

- I have an underlying sense of peace - no matter whether I'm happy or sad, whether I'm being productive or destructive, whether I've encouraged someone or whether I've just called someone a bloody idiot, God still loves me no matter what

- Instead of being nitpicky about others' faults, I have started to become more merciful and forgiving

- Instead of answering back or raging when someone makes me angry, I have learned to hold back or answer gently

- I'm able to be less 'afraid' of, have a closer relationship with my friends because I'm beginning to understand that although they live different lives to me, they, too, are broken humans and are in need of love and assurance

- When times get tough, I know they won't last forever

- When it comes to boy-girl relationships, I now understand that it's not about finding the right girl, but rather, BEING the right guy

- What can I say? I'm alive, I'm blessed, and (only beginning to understand that) I'm loved

Life...

Hmmm...What is life all about, anyway? What is the purpose? You get born, grow up and learn, keep growing and learning (all to get ready for the work force), then you start working, get married and have kids of your own, then you retire and then it's over...if you're lucky. But seriously, what's the purpose of all this? I just don't see an end to it. (Well, there is an END...x_x) Call me a cynic, but what's the use? You get educated when you're young, you go to uni, and then you work. But why do you work? To get money...to stay alive...urrrr...then what? Then you have kids...who eventually will end up doing the same thing...urrrggghhh.

What do people live for these days anyway? Wealth? Job success? Skill? Romance? Entertainment? Status? Sure, it's quite possible to have these things, but what does it matter? And then there are those people who I call 'winners' - those ones who say you can achieve anything if you believe in yourself and guff like that. BLEH! Seriously, what the heck?!

Honestly, I'm not sure what else there is to life. I'm 'only' 20. I don't get how people in their 40s and 50s are not sick of their own lives already. This whole thing just makes me sad.

...to be continued...