nature/nurture and healing

In my Human Growth and Development class, for each development stage, we look at the relationship of nature and nurture. Today, it got me thinking about how many seemingly tiny factors play apart in making each of us who we are - biophysical, psychosocial, and cognitive.

For some reason, thinking about all the tiny puzzle pieces that interact to influence our person made me wonder why God answers prayers in different ways for each person. Is it like the nature/nurture interaction, where if we just get the right combination of pieces together that we get the answer that we're hoping for? Or is it more than that?

I have had a lot of medical struggles. But is that because I haven't hit the right combo to be healed completely? Do I need to pray more diligently for healing? Is it a faith problem? I have no clue. I have struggled a lot with these types of questions especially when I'm sitting in another doctor's office.

I know many Christians that believe in the power of healing, that God can heal in miraculous ways. He can remove the cancer from a man's body or repair the organ that is failing on a child or take away a bad headache. I absolutely believe that God can heal any person of any disease. But what about those times when God doesn't heal the disease?

When I have spent more time than I would ever wish on another person in hospitals, doctor's offices, and medical machines, it's hard not to be envious of the people who have experienced God's amazing healing power. Why have I had to go through it? Why didn't I get to have the miraculous story of how God healed me?

Then I remember that I wouldn't be me if I hadn't gone through those really hard times. My medical struggles are just one tiny factor that makes me, me. Maybe God really does have a plan for me that uses my struggles for good. Maybe my experiences can be used for His Kingdom purposes.

Abba, I know I often question "Why me?" "Why can't you take this away?"Abba, I want to change that. Instead of asking "why," I want to be asking, "what are you teaching me through this?" I'm changing my perspective. Use all of me, even my medical struggles, for your purposes. I trust that you have something great planned for my life.

editing and iron

In my English Composition class, we have do peer reviews for our essays. I haven't always been a fan of peer editing even though I've been doing it for nearly eight years. Today, one of my classmates and I were talking about peer editing and how we both liked a review that ripped our paper up rather than a review that was nice. Yeah, it sometimes hurts my feelings to see all of the problems that the reviewer wrote down, but I know without a doubt that my essay gets better because of the criticism.

It got me thinking at how similar that it is to my faith and having my brothers and sisters in Christ hold me accountable. Accountability can often seem like a negative thing. But God calls us to help each other grow closer to Him. Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." That is kinda like what a peer review does, it sharpens your essay.

So, may God use your brothers and sisters in Christ to sharpen your faith and may God use you to sharpen the faith of your brothers and sisters.

potty-training and persevering

Do you ever feel like all of your hard work is for nothing? My mom and I have had several experiences of that today between a macbook and potty-training.

Maybe how we react to those situations that interrupt our lives reveals what our faith is like. Maybe if our foundation is strong, instead of getting discouraged and giving up, we would get up and try again, trusting that God is in control. Perseverance is hard work! And sometimes it seems like a near impossible task! Between distractions and lack of focus, it is really easy to wander off and give up. Yet when we are in communication with God, he will give us the strength and focus to persevere through the tough stuff.