Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
On the one hand, I’m afraid that I’ll have sex once and never want to have it again: What if having sex hurts? What if it’s uncomfortable? What if I hate it? On the other hand, I’m afraid that I’ll have sex once and won’t want to stop: What if having sex becomes my favorite new hobby? What if it’s super intense? What if I like it more than my husband does?
I know that I already wrote a New Year's post, but I had this idea for a poem that I couldn't not write (and when was the last time I published a poem on TTT?). You've probably been getting bombarded with a lot of content about growth and resolutions, which can be helpful but also overwhelming. I wrote this post as a reminder to myself (and to you!) that although it's important to strive for growth in our relationship with God, He's already sacrificed everything for our salvation and sanctification. And because of that, our faults and failures can be forgiven.
Dear 2023, I have to admit that I’m terrified that you’ve arrived. I’ve been nervously anticipating your arrival long before 2022 ended. I suppose that, in and of yourself, you aren’t scary at all. The real reason that I’m so afraid of you is because I fear that things won’t go according to plan…specifically, according to my plan.
When I started to make the challenging transition from childhood to adulthood, I also started feeling angsty at Christmastime. I wanted Christmas to be a happy holiday, but that didn’t feel possible anymore. Nothing felt the same as it had felt when I was a little kid—giddy to buy gifts, make gifts, and (without a doubt) get gifts. What happened to all those Christmas feels that I had when I was a kid?
From movie reviews to poems to personal reflections, I started writing blog posts to encourage people in their relationship with God. Eventually, I began focusing specifically on meeting young women in their struggles by sharing mine and sharing Scripture. All along, I’ve wanted to bring readers to the place where God's Word meets their messes—as His Word always meets mine.
I wish there were lots of great resources available for the Christian single girl, but this Christian single girl has definitely struggled to find them. My favorite kind of resource is genuine and interesting, but sadly, these kinds of resources are few and far between—especially for the single Christian girl. But I have stumbled upon a few fantastic resources (a blog post, a book, and a podcast episode) that will hopefully be exactly what you need today:
If you’re in college, you probably have a few long-term concerns that are constantly weighing you down, including the ever-present “Where am I going to meet my future husband?” and “Where am I going to live after college?” and “What job am I going to get once I graduate?” I genuinely feel like every Christian girl in college asks these questions. And honestly, we often base our answer to the second question and third question on our answer to the first question.
Normally, this is the day that I would post a written encouragement to you about celebrating Thanksgiving (even if it's hard to celebrate this year, even if you don't feel like expressing gratitude, etc.). But to spice up your Thanksgiving week (*inert chuckle at Grace's attempt to be punny*), I wanted to share this 90-second video with you in preparation of this holiday. Happy Thanksgiving, friends!
This post was written by author, speaker, podcaster, and co-founder of Girl Defined Ministries, Bethany Beal, who has written several books for young women. I've consumed so much content from Girl Defined over the years and can't wait for you to read this post written by its co-founder! This post, just like Girl Defined Ministries as a whole, shows girls the truth about their God-given identity.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 