A Thorn in My Side

I finally was able to attend church again yesterday.  After a few weeks of not being able to go it was much needed.  However Alexa and I did feel a little rusty.. but we did good and as usual I got some good advice to my life.  I just have to confess that I am so blessed and I am so glad my parents raised me Catholic.  So many times my faith has pulled me through so many things and I can honestly say if I didnt attend church as much as I do I wouldnt be where I am today.  I go to church and feel like my life gets figured out there. God is amazing and I would be lost without him in my life!! But anyways..

Everybody in this life has thorns in their sides.  Whether it be a burden that stays with us: maybe not being able to forgive someone maybe an inner struggle we hold within ourselves, maybe a fight we have had with friends or family members or maybe just the simple bad things that happen to us on a daily basis. I have held many thorns in my side over many different reasons.  Right now I hold the thorn of my future in my side.  I worry about where I will be in one year, I worry about ending my college career in hopes for a good future but in the failure of where my college life has lead me.  Having been on probation and getting off I am still graduating from this amazing college.  While that feels like a huge accomplishment it also hurts my chances at the future I once wanted so bad.  I will continue to hold this thorn in my side for this year and it will continue to hurt here and there, but it is going to push me to be a better person and hopefully make it possible for me to do whatever God has planned out for me.  I look back to my past and realize I have had pains like these before and I have gotten through them.  I have only gotten through them by praying, attending church, and listening to God.  My Faith has gotten me through these hard times, and it has never failed me.  My parents raised me with the most important thing I will carry with me through my life and thats my faith.  I would be lost without it.  These thorns that stick with us will only go away through our very own faith.  The thing I havent really thought about is that it is OUR faith, no one elses.  Each of our faiths are different from anyone else's.  Not everyone gets something from attending church like I do, but maybe they get something more from just being outside talking to God or in some other way.  They are still experiencing the same Faith just in a different way.  Faith is believing something is there and knowing that this thorn in our side is soon going to go away because of the power of God.  I believe God is there for me, I pray to him for healing because I know the miracles he once performed and I know he will not let me suffer. These thorns are positive things in our lives.  We suffer through them because they are the pain that Jesus once felt, and we dont feel as hurt as he did because he saves us from that kind of pain.  They are put in our lives to challenge us and make us better human beings.  We have seen many people get through their thorns and heal from them.  I am not going to get through this thorn by attending church or by praying for the answer but more from listening to God and knowing that my faith will carry me through.  I have faith that God will help me through, he will grab my hand and walk with me, he will talk to me and pick me up.  My very own faith is what is going to get this thorn out of my side and I cannot wait to see where it leads me.  I cannot wait for the next thorn in my side because I know I grow so much from all of them.