born and raised in a summer haze.

This summer has been amazing! I've lived in so many different places and met so many new friends. My parents are treating me with so much more freedom which has allowed me to take long weekends away to the river, lake, ATX, anywhere really. I've been working and saving money as well as taking classes at the community college. I'm anxious for school to start, I feel like my sophomore year is going to be amazing. I've grown closer to God every day and made a few changes that I hope He is proud of.

A few weeks ago in church, our preacher preached about how hell is just as real as heaven. While I thought the sermon was particularly dark and a little too "baptist" for me... One thing he said stuck out to me. Our preacher talked about the necessity of an open, growing, endless relationship with God. He then went on to talk about when you first fall in love and the colors seem brighter, the flowers smell better, and the air feels cleaner because you're walking on sunshine ya da ya da ya da. But then how when the relationship ends, you can't face the day because everything you once saw as beautiful only reminds you of the person you loved; and in response, you shut yourself out, after which you only descend further down the stairs towards happiness because you don't allow yourself to see the beauty in everyday. I, being completely pathetic, understood what the preacher was preaching about in that moment because, in my wimpy 19 years of life, I think I've been there. (Long sentence). Anyway, the preacher went back to preaching about hell and I began to let my mind wonder. Since then, I've decided to not confuse beauty in people with beauty in memories. Just because something was beautiful when you saw it with hearts in your eyes, doesn't mean its not beautiful now. Yeah, it may hurt for awhile.... but it all relates back to the One who created it all. Each flower, cloud, piece of technology, sunset, sunrise, each everything, was created by God for us to see, appreciate, smell, touch, and understand. Avoiding the "once good" only to escape from the temporary hurt only ends up harming you more. I'm thankful for Gods beauty, everywhere and am working towards a growing beautiful relationship with Him, for out of all the love I have experience and all the love to come, I know that my relationship with God is the only stead-fast, guaranteed, and completely immersing love available.

thats all,
sarah