In the midst of things...

At this time of year, people are really starting to act up. Some of these people fight each other, cause heartbreak, throw accusations, and the whatnot. Even I have troubles of my own, and I sometimes react the wrong way.

When it comes down to it, we should ask ourselves: are these conflicts really worth it? Are we really aware of what we're doing?

I see something wrong...

"____ has a lot on her plate..."
"Well, Obama has a lot on his plate, too."

There's something wrong with this picture, don't you think?

Redwoods Alliance Retreat

I should be going to bed early. But I feel I really need to make a post about this past weekend.

Even though I came to the conference grounds a day later than planned, I still adapted and enjoyed the environment around me. Now this wasn't a retreat made up of fun and games (with the exception of recreation periods where most of us were doing homework); rather, we gave every minute we had there to the Lord. Spending time with Him, learning more about Him, singing praise to Him...THAT was the enjoyment, and it's better than any other enjoyment out there today.

Over the course of these 1 1/2 days, I learned so much about not only the Lord, but also about myself. I realized that, despite my constant busy schedules, there is no excuse why I can't devote at least fifteen minutes to reading the Bible each day. After all, the time I spend with Him lets everything else--homework, stress, life--fall into place.

In the conference grounds, we were away from the rest of the world, away from worry, away from the harsh outside. We were with God and each other. Now that we're back home, I always remember one thing: never ever ever turn away from Him.

(Yeah, this post is a little jumbly; that's because I'm tired and it's been a long day)

Our difficulties

Wow I just realized that I wrote only one post last month. Fail -___-

Okay, now to the real topic here.

Sometime earlier, a friend of mine told me she doesn't go to church anymore because despite numerous prayers from her family and friends, her mom still lost the fight to breast cancer. Thinking that prayers don't work anymore, she stopped going.

I can't blame her; cancer is a devastating force in my family as well.

Now comes the ultimate question: if God loves us and is all-knowing, why does he let bad things happen to good people? For a while, we even blame Him for the loss of our loved ones. We blame Him for our hardships and struggles.

At least in my church, people believe that God helps those who help themselves. Such people show God that they want to act to persevere, not by wishing. The hardships we endure show how we can go stronger, mentally and spiritually. BUT now that I think about it, we can do very little when a loved one is dying.

Everybody has a different experience, though. It would probably be fair if I share mine. When my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer, our whole family fell into shock. The nights of worry, the times when I saw her ill, the times when she lost all her hair...but we never stopped hoping. We never stopped praying. Eventually, she recovered. Our family's thanks go to God for keeping her strong.

Unfortunately, the same story didn't carry out as well when my grandpa died of liver failure. The doctor said he had only a few months left. That was four years before my grandpa finally passed. At that moment, I was both angry and thankful to God: why did He keep my grandpa strong before finally taking him away?

When it comes down to it, why do bad things happen to us when we need God the most? Where do we go from there?

So many questions, so few answers.

I still hold onto my faith. Miracles have happened before.