What would you do?

Jeremy and I were talking last night about "what would you do"... you know, those kind of conversations you just play around with. Like, what would you do if you wont the lottery. Jeremy asked me if he was President of the United States, what would my platform be as First Lady. Naturally, I said Animal Rights but Jeremy cringed.

I thought about it last night, and decided that as a victim of childhood abuse, I would gear my efforts and energy towards helping children who are victims of the same type of abuse I was. Abuse as a child seems to impact the life of the individual in dramatic ways, most of which are never dealt with. Without some sort of help, the life begins to spiral downward... it almost happened with me and I've seen it happen with other people. Luckily, I have proactive parents who put my butt in counseling, before they even understood the root of my issues.

Today, I have come to a place where I am proud of my background and the good I have been able to do with it. Don't get me wrong- I would have preferred to not go through challenges like I did- but I am a firm believer in Jeremiah 29:11. This verse, and God's gentle, yet protective hand on my life has made his presence very real in my life. And although I am constantly messing up and living a life that is far from perfect- my understanding and acceptance of God's love is so real. Understanding the basics of Christianity is really quite simple- it can be described in the preschool song "Jesus loves me".... I think we fight and rationalize faith so much that we lose the most basic understandings of it all... God loves you, accept that love and His plan for you and your life will be radically changed. I promise. And the other fact of the matter is- I'm not going to be running into heaven... I'm going to be tripping and stumbling in... just like I trip and stumble throughout life. But I know this- I know what is before me. Even as I fall, I know what is there ahead of me and that my friend is what gets me up and keeps me going.