It's a warm sheets kind of day

We are back at school again for our fourth and final year of school which is both nuts and terrifying all at the same time. I feel as though no one prepared me for the days I knew were going to be my last firsts, like the first day of class, or the fall semester, or even moving into campus. Although, it is such a bittersweet time in my life, the devil has never attacked me more than right now. This week I have been reminded of how brutal the world is. The news especially reminds me of the sheer terror and destruction that the devil uses to steer people away from Jesus and I am most definitely included in this. No one goes about their days wishing for bad things to happen, they just do. It's a hard part of life to face, but whether it is your friends, family, or even at work I feel like all I want to do when I witness these things is crawl into bed. Despite all of these things happening we have to be reminded that the Lord is still good on days when we don't think we feel Him or see Him working. His blessings are still abundant. 

In college, a lot of bad things can happen in just a short amount of time. With being a nursing major I have the job of witnessing people on the best and worst days of their lives, life is born and taken in a hospital and sometimes all you need is to come back home and get into bed with warm sheets. My mom used to wash my sheets for me every month when I was growing up and that used to be my favorite part of that day was laying on top of my bed in the warm sheets. It feels like a hug from the Lord, but people who needed this hug more than anyone else in the Bible were the disciples and followers of Jesus after His death. Everyone was dying left and right for their faith and living in a country like the United States has made me so naive to the fact that people around the world still die for their faith every day. The disciples were no exception to this either because people like Saul and other Jewish leaders who did not want Jesus' message to be spread would seek them out in order to stop the spread of Christianity. Matthew 16: 24-27 is Jesus speaking to His disciples about what they will get from losing their lives for His sake. According to this we are rewarded for what we give up for the Lord but it is so hard to see this in the thick of suffering and pain. In spite of all of this, we keep the faith because even though out lives might be hard out Savior willingly chose to die for us on a cross which is more painful than anything we could ever experience. 

Trust me when I say that I know what it feels like to want Jesus to just take it all away and having to live through instead. These times are hard but I hope that all of you feel so loved by God, because He genuinely does love you despite what the world tells you.  The job of the devil is to tear down everything that is holding you up and keeping you secure in your faith, job, family life, etc. In these times of doubt, grief, self-loathing, whatever it may be, cling to those warm sheets and be reminded that you have a Father in Heaven who is making a place for you where he will wipe every tear away and there will be no more death and dying, just peace, joy, and love for eternity. The Lord is waiting for you to jump into that pile from out of the dryer, so have some joy today and do the laundry that you've been putting off so you can enjoy the embrace of our God. Weep with Him, laugh with Him, do whatever you need to feel close, because the Father wants you to be with Him wherever you are.

May the peace and love of God be with you always,

Leah Carpenter