You Are Enough

Here I sit, at 2:18 a.m. on Friday morning, unable to fall asleep. I've had way too much on my mind lately, causing me to not get enough sleep. Is it even possible to become an insomniac within a week? If any of y'all are doctors, let me know.

Although I can't sleep, I think it's a good thing. God has been putting specific thoughts on my heart for the past few weeks and I feel obligated to share. One good thing about not sleeping is being able to gather your thoughts night after night and putting them to use. So here we go:

Friends, you are not your struggles.

Yep. You heard me correctly. You are worth more than your own struggles and pain. So often, we run into people who struggle with a specific sin, illness, or habit, but they constantly beat themselves up for it. Why? Because the devil wants you to believe the lies he's feeding you. Whatever you do, don't ever fall into his lies. You are stronger and worth far more than any other lie or negative whisper being fed to you.

I, like every single one of you, have my own set of struggles that I have dealt with or still deal with to this very day. It's so difficult not to believe these thoughts and ideas when I'm deep into sin or self-hate. Each time I'm tempted to sin, thoughts like "Don't worry Mary, you'll be able to go to confession tomorrow" or "You've fallen with this so many times, what's one more?" run through my head. When I give in to these worldly desires, these thoughts are gone but are replaced with "You're a failure", "See, this is why nobody likes you" or even "You're never going to be able to be happy again". These thoughts hurt. But are they from God? NO.

My self-esteem is something I have struggled with for as long as I can remember. It takes time and energy to teach myself how to love myself past my sins. Some days, it's easier than others. There are times when I clearly know the love Christ has for me. I am so aware that I am his beautiful daughter and more than enough. Other days, it's difficult to remember these truths when nothing but lies are running through my head.

One specific struggle that many people in my life, including myself, have struggled or still struggle with, is chastity. I think as young, Christian people, we're taught that only "bad" people, boys, or non-Christians struggle with this sin. But let me tell you a secret: THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST LIES SOCIETY TELLS US. When it comes to sexual sin, I have met so many amazing, Christian, women AND men who have ran into sexual sin at some point in their life. It's one of the most common struggles young people deal with today. {If this is you, take a look at the links below}

Now, there are so many other ways people struggle, but this one seems to get people the most. Whether you struggle with some type of sexual sin, drugs, cheating, gossiping, self-harm, etc., you need to know that you are so much stronger than any of that. Sure, the devil is going to try to persuade you to fall time and time again, but you are strong. You have the ultimate power to say no to temptations and turn right back to Christ.

No matter what you're dealing with, no matter the severity, no matter how desolated you might feel, you need to know that at the end of the day, you are so incredibly and wonderfully loved.

If you ever are so deep into sin, find someone who you can confide in to talk to, whether that be a priest, pastor, youth-minister, family member, friend, etc. I promise the fight is easier when you're not alone.

You are called to holiness, friends. You are enough. You have enough. You are worthy. I'll always be praying for you. Please pray for me as we fight our struggles together.

{LINKS HERE}
http://theporneffect.com/
http://integrityrestored.com/
http://fightthenewdrug.org/
http://chastityproject.com/