"Prize, what on earth is the prize? I don't see any prize. What's the point of keeping your eye on the prize when there is none? Everyone's always saying-stay focused! -look forward! -keep your eyes on the prize. But what if we can't see the prize, what if there is no end in sight? How are we supposed to keep ourselves focused and motivated if there's no motivation? What's the point in striving to keep up, to keep pushing when there's no true end? "
What's the point to this life, if there's no reward in the end? Some may say the "prize" is pride. But how many times has the bible said that "pride" is a sin. Therefore, that can't be the true prize. Other's say that living with Jesus in the end is the reward. But what if we already have that, then what? Are we supposed to sit by and enjoy the ride? Even if we help others get to Jesus, there is still the matter of the "prize". Normally I don't care about prizes, but a prize doesn't always have to be a literal thing. Something you can hold in your hands. A prize could simply be an end of something. But the end of life, and beginning a life with God. Well we can't really experience that here on earth now can we. So what do we have? Nothing really. We have NOTHING.
Another way to think about this is, perhaps the prize is "the light at the end of the tunnel" But what if there is no light? "Keep going" some say, but what if we go and go and go and go...and there's never any end? What then? There's no prize, no end in sight. Then what's the point in continuing on? What's the point in striving to reach the unattainable, especially when we know that we can't get there. Didn't God make the 10 commandments knowing that we would never truly be able to fulfill every single one of them? Sure we can try, but that's all we can do. We can never reach it. Everyone sins, therefore the 10 commandments are unattainable. We can't reach them, there is no "pride" in knowing that you've succeeded. Because you can't, you haven't. No one has. So then what's the point? Why TRY to reach something that you just cant get? Why try to succeed when you will literally get nothing out of it?
Is there even a prize? Has there ever been a prize? If so, will we ever see it? Or is it really just another man-made thing to explain the point behind life?
Because if there is no "reward" in the end of life. Then what's the point to life?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Glimpse of my thought process
How many times have I sat here, in this very same spot, planning out something that everyone knows will never happen? How many times will I sit here and ignore everything God is trying to tell me just so that I can full fill a dream of MINE?
I don't get it. I never have and at times I doubt I ever will. God wants us to be happy right? So then is it wrong for us to try and pursue our dreams? Can't we further God's kingdom in other ways besides just the whole missionary type thing? Aren't there other ways to do that?
Once again, I'm here. Sitting at the desk, typing away as I day dream about the day when I can finally leap into my dreams. There are so many things I long to do with my life, mainly travel and write. Thankfully those two can be combined with just about anything. But its only common knowledge that those two things are nearly impossible without a job that actually pays. My dreams of living off my books, are simply dreams and nothing more. How many people out there say "I want to write a book"? Too many. Seems like everyone in America wants to write nowadays. But the reality of any of those ever getting published? Well the chances have dropped, that much is for certain. And as time goes on I feel as if my writing is staying the same. Its not growing, its not changing. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I don't write as much anymore and spend all my time THINKING and LEARNING how to write...and never actually doing anything. Maybe that's why, but honestly I don't ACTUALLY know.
I think the reason I'm complaining is because I've planned my life out so many times, but the things...the details that make up my life are constantly changing. Certain things never leave such as my want to travel and write. But the "back-up" jobs, hobbies, colleges, locations--all those things change. And lately, it seems like they are changing constantly. I have countless things I would LOVE to do while I'm still young. But it seems like my time is short. Like I won't be young for long. Things I would have loved to do, I am now suddenly too old for.Other things simply take up too much time, or cost an unreasonable amount of money. Here's a quick list...
I don't get it. I never have and at times I doubt I ever will. God wants us to be happy right? So then is it wrong for us to try and pursue our dreams? Can't we further God's kingdom in other ways besides just the whole missionary type thing? Aren't there other ways to do that?
Once again, I'm here. Sitting at the desk, typing away as I day dream about the day when I can finally leap into my dreams. There are so many things I long to do with my life, mainly travel and write. Thankfully those two can be combined with just about anything. But its only common knowledge that those two things are nearly impossible without a job that actually pays. My dreams of living off my books, are simply dreams and nothing more. How many people out there say "I want to write a book"? Too many. Seems like everyone in America wants to write nowadays. But the reality of any of those ever getting published? Well the chances have dropped, that much is for certain. And as time goes on I feel as if my writing is staying the same. Its not growing, its not changing. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I don't write as much anymore and spend all my time THINKING and LEARNING how to write...and never actually doing anything. Maybe that's why, but honestly I don't ACTUALLY know.
I think the reason I'm complaining is because I've planned my life out so many times, but the things...the details that make up my life are constantly changing. Certain things never leave such as my want to travel and write. But the "back-up" jobs, hobbies, colleges, locations--all those things change. And lately, it seems like they are changing constantly. I have countless things I would LOVE to do while I'm still young. But it seems like my time is short. Like I won't be young for long. Things I would have loved to do, I am now suddenly too old for.Other things simply take up too much time, or cost an unreasonable amount of money. Here's a quick list...
- World Race Mission Trip-11 months and $16,000
- Peace Corps-27 months
- Road trip around the U.S-$1500 (with what I want to do)
- Desperation Leadership Academy-8 months and $5,500
- Backpack in Europe
- Biola University-$30,000 a year
See. That right there is why I'm frustrated. All of those things take time and money. More money than I have at the moment, and when put together...the amount of time it would take for me to do all of those things is about 10 years. Including schooling. So what now. I can't do that, its too long and too much money. I'd be broke. Id be like...dead.
UGH!!! Life is so dang frustrating! Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I didn't know that God was calling me to something. If I was simply living life for myself, the only one in charge. What would it be like? Never having to worry if you are following God's plan or not? Hmm...surely millions of people in America today are doing that. Yet I...am not one of them...and thus do not know.
My plans have changed again. Now I want to go to Alaska. But not just to visit. I want to live there. But all that Alaska stuff is for another post...some other time. But just the fact that I now have ANOTHER thing to add to my list is frustrating me. I don't know what to do with my time anymore. I dont know what I want to live for anymore. I thought I knew. I thought I knew what I wanted in life, but really I'm so very lost.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Slammed Doors
Why do I even try? Whats the point? All I ever get is more rejection. More doors slammed shut in my face just as I'm about to take a step forward.
I don't get it. I just don't get it. Everything was going perfectly well...it was all working out. And now...now I'm stuck here again. Back where I started, if not farther back. I thought...I thought things were actually going well for once. That things would happen as I had always wished they would. But I was wrong. Man on man was I wrong. I'm always wrong, now that I think about it. I can't remember a single thing I have been right about in the past...6 months? Nah...make it a year...maybe more.
How many times will I get my hopes up about something...only to have the door slammed shut in my face? I mean seriously! COME ON! This is insane! I've been "rejected" far too many times! Why does it have to keep happening! I'm tired of having to sit by and watch as the door closes before me. I'm tired of having to turn around and go back down the hall to where I began. I'm tired of having to wait and wait and wait and wait before things start working out for me again...because eventually they ALL fail! So whats the point of even trying....whats the point of going through the halls to reach the doors, when in the end they are only going to get slammed shut?
I don't get it...and I doubt I ever will.
I don't get it. I just don't get it. Everything was going perfectly well...it was all working out. And now...now I'm stuck here again. Back where I started, if not farther back. I thought...I thought things were actually going well for once. That things would happen as I had always wished they would. But I was wrong. Man on man was I wrong. I'm always wrong, now that I think about it. I can't remember a single thing I have been right about in the past...6 months? Nah...make it a year...maybe more.
How many times will I get my hopes up about something...only to have the door slammed shut in my face? I mean seriously! COME ON! This is insane! I've been "rejected" far too many times! Why does it have to keep happening! I'm tired of having to sit by and watch as the door closes before me. I'm tired of having to turn around and go back down the hall to where I began. I'm tired of having to wait and wait and wait and wait before things start working out for me again...because eventually they ALL fail! So whats the point of even trying....whats the point of going through the halls to reach the doors, when in the end they are only going to get slammed shut?
I don't get it...and I doubt I ever will.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Mechanical Pencils
This, right there was my "weapon" of choice. It started out by accident, I didn't meant to discover it. But I did. And thus a seemingly never ending cycle of pain began. Here's the storyI was in school, and wanted to write something on my hand so that I wouldn't forget it. But I didn't have any pens with me. all I had was a mechanical pencil, similar to the one pictured here. So I took it and tried to write on my hand. Now, normally, you can't write on your hand with pencil. It doesn't show really. Well, I didn't really have any other option so I pressed as hard as I could and basically scratched what it was into the first layer of skin on my left hand. And...it worked. A few weeks later, I found myself in the same position...in need of a pen. And without one. So I did it again. But as I did it this time, I found that I...well...that I liked it. And thus the cycle began.
I took to taking the pencil and pushing down on the soft fleshy area of my hand and dragging it back and forth until a thin red line appeared. I found that as I did this, clumps of soft skin would come off with it. Leaving behind a perfectly straight indent on my hand. I liked it, I liked the light pain it provided and thought it felt cool, when I'd run my other hand over the line. So I did it again...and again. However, I would only do it after the first one had healed, as soon as the first line would heal I'd make another one, right beside it. Soon I had a collection of them. And as I type I can still see them. The newest one, done nearly a month ago...is still there. I still healing as each time they'd heal, I'd pick at the scabs. The newest one, was the deepest one. The one that formed the largest scab, the one that took the longest to heal. The one that bled each time I'd touch it. The newest one, is also the largest SCAR that I have on my left hand. I now have a collection of scars. And yes, they are in fact scars. All in a row, quite obvious really. And since they are scars, they will NOT go away. Ever. I don't mind really, for they remind me of how depressed I was. how far I sunk. They make me realize that I don't ever want to go there again. They make me realize how lucky I was that i didn't take it any further than that. Thankfully, I'm afraid of pain. Physical pain, it sickens me. However this...this wasn't enough to sicken me...but it was enough to satisfy my wants.
In a way, its a lot like cutting. Actually...its just like cutting. But with a pencil. Who would have thought that someone could do bodily harm using a pencil? And even if they did...they probably didn't imagine using it the way I did.
A few people noticed. A few people asked. But I always found something to blame it on. Either my cat, the dog, or heck..even sledding. However, each time I'd lie...I'd find that I would forget what I had told the last person, and I began to hope that they never compared answers. (But doesn't that usually happen when you lie?) Heck my Mom even asked me, but what did I tell her? "It was the dog" Sadly enough...she believed me.
Heck everyone fricking believed me! Have I gotten to be that good of a liar? Or have people just stopped caring. I take that back. Not everyone believed me, everyone but one at least. She never believes me when I lie, she always seems to know that I'm lying. And in a way, I'm grateful for that. Its nice to know that someone knows me well enough to know when somethings wrong, when something's not quite right...when I'm lying. Its nice to know that someone actually knows the real me...and isn't just taking everything I say at face value.
Fresh Start
It's about time I know, 3+ years is quite a while. But those 3+ years happened for a reason. I know that, I always knew that. But for some reason I just couldn't quite believe it. I've sat here for days, weeks, months wondering when it would finally happen. And now it has.
Seems like it was overnight, but I know that it wasn't. I can't really pin point the end. Just as I can't pin point the start. It sort of just happened. I woke up one day, and things were a little bit different. Two weeks later, things were greatly different. How this happened, I still don't know. All I know is that it has...and that I'm enjoying it. It's like the tables were switched around and now, I suddenly hold the power again. My life is in my control once more, but it wasn't so long ago that it wasn't. All someone has to do is look at this blog and they'll know that. I think my "rock bottom" moment was sometime in the past few months. And everyone knows that once you hit rock bottom, you start to climb up again..its no longer a continual drop. Now, I'm climbing up. I'm back on my way to the top and I can't wait to see the view.
Things are different, so very different. Except, there remains one thing that I cannot do. Literally cannot. Prayer. I just...cant do it. When other people pray I can't wait until their done. And when I pray, I feel like I'm only doing it to "act" like a good Christian. Like I'm not doing it for the right reasons. Also, when I pray, its like this super long, drawn out ordeal...even though I hardly say a word. Half the time when I pray, I fall asleep before anything "real" even happens. But hey, I'm not complaining. I mean, I have to take it one step at a time right? I can't just expect that everything will fall right into place. And I'll be the perfect Christian, cause that's not happening. I have to rebuild my relationship with God, with myself, with everyone. I have to start over, I've let down so many. I've lied to who knows how many. Its time for me to start over....but this time. I'm getting a fresh start. Another chance, a chance to do it right this time.
I've read the bible lately, almost every night for the entire month of January. I admit I do miss some days, but doesn't everyone when they first start out again? Like I said before, I can't expect the best right away. the fact that I'm TRYING to at least do this thing...makes me happy. It tells me that a part of me does still care, that somewhere I am actively fighting this "thing" that has had control over me for so long. The fact that I'm reading the bible has to say something...compared to when I would avoid it entirely. Something has changed, that much is certain. But I still don't know what exactly.
However, the timing couldn't be more perfect. Everything's falling into place for me right now. But then again, God's timing is always perfect, so of course its falling into place. I WANT to talk about this thing...but I can't. I refuse to get my hopes up about something that I'm not even sure will happen yet. It can't be a coincidence though....it can't....right?! UGH! I sure hope its not just my BRAIN thinking that it is. But either way, I'm happy! Happy! It feels weird to say that I'm happy. I'm like NEVER happy...so why am I happy?? I don't even know!! I just am. I know this journey isn't going to be easy, it never is. And I have a feeling that I'll probably slip back down the slope once more, but as long as I keep trying I will reach the top again. I will.
Seems like it was overnight, but I know that it wasn't. I can't really pin point the end. Just as I can't pin point the start. It sort of just happened. I woke up one day, and things were a little bit different. Two weeks later, things were greatly different. How this happened, I still don't know. All I know is that it has...and that I'm enjoying it. It's like the tables were switched around and now, I suddenly hold the power again. My life is in my control once more, but it wasn't so long ago that it wasn't. All someone has to do is look at this blog and they'll know that. I think my "rock bottom" moment was sometime in the past few months. And everyone knows that once you hit rock bottom, you start to climb up again..its no longer a continual drop. Now, I'm climbing up. I'm back on my way to the top and I can't wait to see the view.
Things are different, so very different. Except, there remains one thing that I cannot do. Literally cannot. Prayer. I just...cant do it. When other people pray I can't wait until their done. And when I pray, I feel like I'm only doing it to "act" like a good Christian. Like I'm not doing it for the right reasons. Also, when I pray, its like this super long, drawn out ordeal...even though I hardly say a word. Half the time when I pray, I fall asleep before anything "real" even happens. But hey, I'm not complaining. I mean, I have to take it one step at a time right? I can't just expect that everything will fall right into place. And I'll be the perfect Christian, cause that's not happening. I have to rebuild my relationship with God, with myself, with everyone. I have to start over, I've let down so many. I've lied to who knows how many. Its time for me to start over....but this time. I'm getting a fresh start. Another chance, a chance to do it right this time.
I've read the bible lately, almost every night for the entire month of January. I admit I do miss some days, but doesn't everyone when they first start out again? Like I said before, I can't expect the best right away. the fact that I'm TRYING to at least do this thing...makes me happy. It tells me that a part of me does still care, that somewhere I am actively fighting this "thing" that has had control over me for so long. The fact that I'm reading the bible has to say something...compared to when I would avoid it entirely. Something has changed, that much is certain. But I still don't know what exactly.
However, the timing couldn't be more perfect. Everything's falling into place for me right now. But then again, God's timing is always perfect, so of course its falling into place. I WANT to talk about this thing...but I can't. I refuse to get my hopes up about something that I'm not even sure will happen yet. It can't be a coincidence though....it can't....right?! UGH! I sure hope its not just my BRAIN thinking that it is. But either way, I'm happy! Happy! It feels weird to say that I'm happy. I'm like NEVER happy...so why am I happy?? I don't even know!! I just am. I know this journey isn't going to be easy, it never is. And I have a feeling that I'll probably slip back down the slope once more, but as long as I keep trying I will reach the top again. I will.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Help....
I read the bible,
to no avail
i reveal my secrets,
to no one in particular
i try to hide from God,
only to fail
I push him away
just to watch myself succeed
I keep friends out
and find myself alone
i lock the doors of my soul
just to watch my life fall apart
i throw away the key
only to go searching
i find my spirits failing
and don't know what to do
I'm lost
but have no guide
I'm trapped
and can't see the door
Help.....
I'm stuck with no way out
Friday, January 1, 2010
Free Will+Confusion=Free Pain?
A new year. Another year. Why do we have to acknowledge this new year? Why can't we just get rid of our dating system and simply have it all blend into one? Why do we NEED to know how old something is? Does it really matter what day it is? What year it is? How old something is? Does it?
Does it matter that I've been "depressed" for x amount of years now? Does it? Let's see. How far back did it start? Well. 2006. That should be a good starting place. Hm...no. I think I was already depressed then. What about 2005. So I was what...12? What happened that year? That was a rough year for me, but it was better than 2006. So let's say that it was a slow and steady decline beginning somewhere between 2005-2006. That's...how many years? Does it even matter? To some it probably does. But not to me. Nothing really matters anymore. My life is pretty much pointless. At least it seems that way.
So what IS the reason I'm here? Since I'm a FAILURE of a Christian. Then why am I here? I can't really further God's kingdom when I'm fighting against it myself...now can I? According to some people, God has plans for all of us. But I don't really believe that. Cause if he did, then why am I so lost. Why am I so confused? Why isn't anything ever working out? Why do I hate my life so much? If he does then why isn't he doing anything to try and stop me from screwing up my life? From destroying the only thing he gave me. Life.
Does he even care what I do with it? After all it is mine, and we do have free will. So can he even do anything about it really? Could I just like...destroy my life and have him not do anything about it? Cause he can't really...can he. It's all about free will. Right? If he DID care, then why wouldn't he stop me from wanting/thinking about certain things. Why wouldn't he banish the thoughts that fill my head each day. Why wouldn't he replace my pain with joy? Why would he let me sit here for so long, lost and confused. I know some people have it worse than I do. But those people either already have God, or don't. They are't stuck somewhere awkwardly in the middle like I am.
Does it matter that I've been "depressed" for x amount of years now? Does it? Let's see. How far back did it start? Well. 2006. That should be a good starting place. Hm...no. I think I was already depressed then. What about 2005. So I was what...12? What happened that year? That was a rough year for me, but it was better than 2006. So let's say that it was a slow and steady decline beginning somewhere between 2005-2006. That's...how many years? Does it even matter? To some it probably does. But not to me. Nothing really matters anymore. My life is pretty much pointless. At least it seems that way.
So what IS the reason I'm here? Since I'm a FAILURE of a Christian. Then why am I here? I can't really further God's kingdom when I'm fighting against it myself...now can I? According to some people, God has plans for all of us. But I don't really believe that. Cause if he did, then why am I so lost. Why am I so confused? Why isn't anything ever working out? Why do I hate my life so much? If he does then why isn't he doing anything to try and stop me from screwing up my life? From destroying the only thing he gave me. Life.
Does he even care what I do with it? After all it is mine, and we do have free will. So can he even do anything about it really? Could I just like...destroy my life and have him not do anything about it? Cause he can't really...can he. It's all about free will. Right? If he DID care, then why wouldn't he stop me from wanting/thinking about certain things. Why wouldn't he banish the thoughts that fill my head each day. Why wouldn't he replace my pain with joy? Why would he let me sit here for so long, lost and confused. I know some people have it worse than I do. But those people either already have God, or don't. They are't stuck somewhere awkwardly in the middle like I am.
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