Hello everyone! It has been a long time, I know. 2020 has be ridiculously crazy as many of y'all can attest. So I guess I should say Happy New Year, don't forget to change your clocks forward 1 hour, and it's my birthday! well, as of February 3, 2020, I am officially 26 years old! Wow. Time just flies. I'm basically supposed to be a real adult now, but I'm not too sure I really am. I placed a lot of worldly value on this age of 26. For instance, I thought I should've been married or thriving in a successful career right now. I tend to feel as though I have 5 steps behind everyone else and that I will never get my life together. I know it's a current emotion but I want to make sure I write it so when I do arrive to where I'm going I can look back at this and give God some praise! As I am in this phase, I still don't want to lose sight of why The Father has me here right now. I don't want to lose sight of what He's preparing me for. I really hate to sound like that stereotypical "I'm trying to sound transparent" blogger, but the reality is, life can get hard and can bring you down emotionally! It's a constant battle of realizing you are not actually trusting God even though you say you are. Well I can keep going on and on but that's not what we are here for today! Let's first start off with some things I learned in my 25th year of life!
1. Forgivenesses does not equal friendship
I worked on forgiving and removing people from my life. I had to understand, just because I have forgiven them, does not mean they are good for me to be around. If the relationship is not God led or Christ-centered, then I need to let it go. I realized I was hoping to remain in people's lives because it gave me validation as a person who's there with people through it all. I then realized how unhealthy that validation is. I kept praying for healing yet I was not letting go of what was causing me pain. I am so grateful I finally listened to the Holy Spirit so He could work in me and begin healing me. I learned to stop allowing people to have such power over me that I have to minimize myself around them because of fear or insecurity of what they are thinking of me. I LET THAT GO! Why am I seeking validation from people who aren't seeking after Christ, and who are even Christ!
2. It's ok to say NO!
I have a tendency to feel guilty into pleasing people because I don't want to hurt their feelings. Either I don't fully stand up for myself or I cave into doing things because I feel bad for someone. My mental health and sanity is extremely important, and I have to realize I cannot place myself in situations that compromise my own sanity to appease someone else. I can be there for someone while setting up boundaries.
Aside from what I learned, I also accomplished MANY things! One of my biggest goals from 25 was to become more bold about ADHD and ADHD awareness. I asked the Lord the help me not care what people think and to live how He created me to live. With that I...
1. Went to Philadelphia for the ADHD Conference!
I got a chance to learn more about myself and how my brain works. Not only that, but I met many people who think and operate like I do and it was so refreshing to see that I was not the only one! I felt like it was home! Along with attending the conference, I was able to get out of my comfort zone again, and travel to a place I have not been. I connected with old friends and had a chance to tour the beautiful city of Philadelphia! Oh how I would love to go back!
To find out how that trip went, click the image below!
2. Sold my first sweatshirt!
What better way to be bold about ADHD than create clothing that represents it! I was blessed and fortunate to be able to create and sell a sweatshirt that displays the positive qualities of ADHD, and guess what... People actually bought it! I'm still in shock about that. Yes majority of them were friends and family, but I have had a few people I do not know that purchased it! I was so proud of myself for getting out there and not being fearful of promoting myself. Was I afraid to do so? Absolutely! Did I need a little push from a friend? Absolutely! Did I let fear hold me back? NOPE! And now I can say that people are sporting something I created and I praise God for it!
If you are interested in supporting me, click the image below!
3. I defended my faith/shared the gospel
Lastly, but definitely not least, I was able to share the gospel/defend my faith. I had been asking the Lord to give me opportunities to defend my faith to show me areas that I may need to study up on or learn how to better explain the Bible. During this 25th year of life, The Lord gave me multiple opportunities to share His truth, and I did! I was so proud of myself for not allowing fear to keep me from sharing God's truth. Each time I did, I was in the company of other professing Christians, who while I was defending my faith, told me to stop talking and let it go. At that moment, I realized I was not defending my faith for the unbeliever, but for those who say they believe. We all need to "revere Christ as Lord. Always being prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But doing it with gentleness and respect..." (1 Peter 3:15). By them trying to quiet me and telling me I'm wasting my time, shows that we subconsciously believe that not everyone deserve to hear the gospel. It showed that if you are not a certain person, you are not deserving of God's love. At what point do we stop and realize that Jesus came so we can learn the truth and be saved from the penalty of sin through his death and resurrection. We automatically label people as crazy because they do not think or believe like we do, yet we are not living out a crucial command, to love our neighbor. Those experiences showed me how we are all 1 decision away from being in those positions, and in the same breath, what makes us more righteous than them when we engage in the same sinful practices that they do? We may say we believe in Jesus, but our actions speak differently. Just some food for thought. Be careful not to judge others so quickly because we could be right there.
Well, that's it! Hopefully I can get a few blogs out over the next few weeks since I will have time because of COVID-19. Oh also, with that, PLEASE PLEAE PLEASE stay safe. Make sure you are following instructions and taking time to relax. Sometimes it can take situations like this for God to get our attention that the end is near. Go spend time with family and loved ones. Go read your bible! Spend time with The Lord. Many of us have no excuse right now but to do that only! So, instead of fearing, crack open you Bible and see what God's word says!
Well I will talk to y'all later!
BYYYEEE!!!
~Meghan A. Harper
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind
2 Tim. 1:7
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