What i've learned: Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.

The name of this post is a lyric from the Fray.  I love those guys.  Their songs are so mellow and meaningful.  They never get old.  You know what other band is like the Fray?  Sleeping At Last.  Super great.  You should listen to them.

Anyway,  I hate this fact about life.  That the things that are the best for you are usually the most painful.

I wanna be huge.  I wish I was ripped.  I actually went all out during the summer and watched what I ate, and worked out a lot-  not gonna lie, I looked pretty good.  But that was a BUTT LOAD of work!  It got to be too much, and I quit.  I say this because it took a lot, but the results were worth it.
Going to college?  A ton of work.  But when I become a youth pastor it'll all be worth it.
Jobs?  They consume so much time..... but ya gotta like the paychecks.

Then theres the really hard stuff, like working on relationships that you really don't want to deal with.  I was honestly avoiding my family the last couple months because I was trying to figure my own junk out.  When Thanksgiving came,  I didn't want to go home at all.  I was dreading it.  But then Jeff said I should (which pissed me off).  It took a lot for me to go home, but when I did, it felt really good, like I wasn't hiding anymore.  Hahaha maybe that doesn't make sense, but it's true.
And what about our relationship with God?  Sometimes it can be hard to pray, to read the Bible, to tithe, to fast-  I struggle with a couple of those often.  But the benefits to an amazing relationship with God far outweigh the cost.  The sinful lifestyle you have to give up is NOTHING compared to the amazing freedom God offers.
  And these give and takes are definitely something you need to think about.  Jesus said that the builders don't start building without first deciding whether or not they have enough materials.  We shouldn't make decisions until we decide if the choice we make will be worth it.

And, y'know, I didn't even mean for this post to turn into a Salvation thing, but the fact is, is that before I knew Christ I thought that living for him would be really, really hard.  But I knew it was right, So I did it.  And the pay off has been more than worth it.  I don't know who or where I would be without Jesus.  I know that sounds super cheezy,  and I never, EVER want to sound like I only give Sunday School answers, but it's true.  The decision we make to follow Jesus is proof enough that hard choices yield the best results- Lose your life and find it, pick up your cross, yada yada yada.  It's crazy talk!

But there is nothing more worthwhile.
So, what I have learned is that the tough decisions we make are the ones that matter most.  So, let's face these decisions head on.  Shrinking away will only stunt your growth.