new beginnings.

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."(Rom. 8:22-25).  

new beginnings.  As I sit here, dumbfounded as to what to begin my blogging career with, thoughts of catchy lines or smooth phrases cloud my mind as if that's what people come to read.  No.  People want to hear real, raw, and relatable stories.  I'll get to those soon (and hopefully they will be relatable. fingers crossed).  First, I've deemed it necessary to explain my purpose in this run-of-the-mill, everyone has one, blog of mine.  The name of my blog--waiting eagerly (with strength not my own)--is solely based on the passage of Romans 8:18-27.  I chose this topic of waiting on eternity and the promises of the Lord NOT because I am an expert at sitting back and humming 'Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be Alright' (even though I'd like to think so sometimes), but in fact because I am such a failure at instilling well-deserved trust in my King.  I constantly fight the battle of discontentedness with what this world so obviously tainted by sin has to offer and the detrimental desire to feel fulfilled.  How, then, because I am a child of God, could I be roped in so easily to this world's cycle of destruction?  That is a question I ask myself daily, and sometimes ask the Lord, but not nearly as much as I ask myself out of sheer pride and pity.  

Thankfully, the Spirit is always swift to remind me that talking myself in circles is no good, and that grace, all-powerful grace, has already covered my doubt and small-mindedness.  Needless to say, I am waiting eagerly for a world where I can live sinlessly in the presence of my Pursuer and Savior.  But in order to maintain eager expectation, I need patience that only the Lord can supply, hence 'with strength not my own'. 

You see, I haven't even the slightest clue as to whether you are a believer or not, but either way, I am here to inform you that 'there is no one righteous, not even one'(Rom. 3:10).  And by that, the apostle Paul means that every human is completely dead to sin and ONLY made alive to righteousness by salvation through Christ Jesus through his work on the cross.  Conclusively, I am utterly incapable of even making it through one day with my eyes totally fixated on the promise of eternity or in other words, to wait eagerly.

I have a lingering problem with letting the small things bring me down and discourage me, so looking towards eternity is the only mindset or activity that snaps me back into truth. Throughout the past four years of my life (high school woo hoo), God has been hammering this message of hope and grace into my thick skull, so I thought I might share a little bit of my journey because when it comes down to it, I'm just a sinner walking through life with strength not her own, and you can be too.