June 24, 2013

IT'S ALL ABOUT PERSPECTIVE.

grad

I'm officially a college grad. I know, I know, you've heard me say this before, but with my tassel, diploma, and cords in my possession, it feels more real now. And yes, I did strategically place the cords over my diploma to cover my college's emblem. Makes for a creative and fascinating photo, right?

Anyway, I've been in a little bit of a blog drought. Not sure what to post and overwhelmed (in a good way!) by all of your lovely posts, thoughts, and well, amazingness. It made me feel a little like an outsider, to tell you the truth.

But that's when I remembered some of my old posts. Posts on comparison and on choosing joy. Posts that reminded me that we all have our own stories to tell. And that when it comes down to it, it's all about perspective. It's about realizing that I shouldn't compare my life story with yours because it's yours. God wrote it for you, not me. And He's written a story for me as well.

Coincidence or God's perfect timing (I'm going with the latter of the two), I recently came across this gem in Shauna's book, Bittersweet. 


"But there is one thing that those pastors and preachers and leaders cannot do, one thing they can never do. They cannot tell my story. Only I can tell my story. And only you can tell your story"


Yeah. Not only did that excerpt encourage me in my blogging drought, but it humbled me, too. It reminded me that we each have our own stories to tell. And for me, that meant realizing that blogging doesn't come naturally for me. It takes time, prayer, and (lots of) editing. And even though I've been meaningfully blogging for a year now, I still struggle with pumping out posts on a regular basis. I don't have many "followers" or whatever and I don't like using Twitter (true story).

But that's my story. And by comparing my story with yours, I'm robbing you of your happiness and robbing myself of happiness, too.

So I'm changing my perspective today and am taking responsibility of choosing how I feel. I choose to be joyful and grateful for the work God's doing in your lives and your bold and precious hearts as you share your life with me. I choose gratitude that through my blogging silence, I'm getting the chance to get to know you better. And I choose to praise God that He's working in my life, too. It may not be in the way I see fit, but He knows what He's doing. And I'm grateful that that I don't need to worry about any of that future-stuff and can just live instead.


"When we, any of us who have been transformed by Christ, tell our own stories, 
we're telling the story of who God is" 
-Shauna Niequist

10 comments

  1. Congratulations on graduating!
    'changing my perspective today and am taking responsibility of choosing how I feel.' I love this. Really encouraging. Thanks girl!
    www.abislittlewanderings.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Thanks, Abi! :) And those words aren't just encouraging to you, they've been an encouragement for me, too (like seriously, I really needed to read this post again this morning!). :)

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  2. Really, girl? How do you do it? You encourage me SO much through each time you share your heart. I'm so encouraged by how you ALWAYS point so clearly back to Jesus, no matter how you're feeling.

    Definitely need these reminders that I'm the boss of how I feel and choose to respond to things around me. Thanks for being one of those irons in my life! :)

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    1. Um, I think the better question is, how do YOU do it? I've been in awe of all the truth you've been posting on when it comes to singleness. It's been spot on, girl.

      And trust me, I need these reminders, too! As in I've needed to remind myself that it's my choice/responsibility to choose happiness multiple times today.

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  3. What a blessing to have a blog that truly reflects YOU! I always love reading what you have to say, Kiki! :-)

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    1. It definitely is a blessing--and something I often need to remind myself of, too! And thanks, Susannah! That's so kind and I think the same of your blog as well! :)

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  4. Love this post! I have been struggling lately a lot with writing meaningful posts. I love those posts about just telling your own story because only you can tell it. Too true. Thanks for the inspiration. :)

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    1. I really have been struggling, too! It must be something in the blog water. :)

      Thank YOU for inspiring me, girl! Seriously, you not only encourage me to continue writing but you inspire me in your posts + wisdom as well.

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  5. Hey Kiki! First of all: congrats on being a graduate! Wow, what a huge accomplishment!

    Second: I've been in this same boat. I just wrote a post about it, actually. I realized that I was having a tough time figuring out what to say after May, not feeling very confident in my direction, not knowing what to say. But then I realized: I just need to LOVE my blog, to be positive, and the words will come.

    Sometimes the stories we tell on our blogs aren't complete; and they aren't meant to be. Blogging happens as life happens... and sometimes we have profound things to say and other times, we are at a loss for words. But like you said, it's not so much about whether or not our words are better or worse next to anyone else's, but about if they are true and authentic. If you're being yourself, I feel like you can't go wrong! :)

    --Erika
    http://www.chimerikal.com

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    1. Aw, thanks Erika! It's definitely a huge accomplishment and something that I too often take for granted.

      And I just started reading your post and am loving it. Girl, you are one great writer! :) Seriously, I cannot wait to finish it as soon as I publish this comment. And I'm with you, my blog could really use more of my love. With the May Challenge, I was really feeling the love from both myself as the writer and from my readers. Since that challenge ended, I realized just how little attention I've been giving it lately (not that it's my entire life, but as you said, as life happens, blogging happens!). Anyway, thank you for those words. I cannot wait to read the entire post!

      And I'm sure you've heard this, but you're incredibly wise as well! I really love what you said--"sometimes the stories we tell on our blogs aren't complete; and they aren't meant to be." Wow. So much truth in that and I love how applicable that is to me, too.

      Thanks again, girl! :)

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