New Chapter

I'm quite tired of hearing the phrase "Why would God let ______ happen?!" Why would God let there be poverty? Why would God not give us money for Christmas gifts? Why would God deprive our children of earthly things? Why would God give us this weather? Why would God do this, that and the other thing?!
Let me ask you this: Why would God bless us so much?? Here in Canada, we are incredibly blessed. We are spoiled. God gives us nice houses, cars, a healthy family, pets, nice things, freedom, He gave us EVERYTHING! God is good. He knows that if we get that new iPhone, we probably won't have as much time for Him. We'll put off our time with Him to play with our new toy, that will probably break within a year. God is forever. He knows what we do.
I've had people tell me that the people in Africa are just poor to get pity. They could come out of it if they wanted to. First off, that is not true. They are, as far as I'm concerned, the hardest workers in the world yet some of them still live off of less than a dollar a day. Is it fair? No. Did God make this happen? Yes. So, why? Why would he make those people suffer? That's the question we often ask. I am jealous of the people in Africa living below the poverty line. God knows what He's doing guys! He didn't make a mistake. He never makes mistakes. So why do we question Him? The people in Africa have an amazing bond, they are some of the strongest people I have ever heard of, they depend on Jesus Christ for everything in their lives. They're lucky! The problem is, as humans, we often just look at the money aspect of things. Money is earthly. I'm a teenager, of course I want money! I love being able to get new clothes, I love being able to go out with my friends, I love being able to spoil myself. And that's something that I have to work on, I recognize that. I just hate hearing, "Why would God do this to me?" Yes, I've said it before. I still don't know why some of the things in my life happened, but they made me who I am today, and I would not do anything in my past differently. Not one thing.
Now, I'm going to be the most predictable person on the face of the earth, because I am going to talk about New Years. I can't get over how fast 2010 went by. I remember the speaker in church talking about how cool Twenty-ten sounds like it was yesterday. This year has been crazy. In March I put on my first bake sale and we raised $700 for Haiti. I went to YC Manitoba for the first time in April. Amazing, that's all I can say. Definitely planted a big seed! I would suggest it to everyone!! In May I turned 15. On my birthday, my best friend dragged me out of my house, we almost got killed (so much fun!) and we went to the beach and took pictures. All I can say is I am blessed. In June I put on another bake sale for a blind kid in my town, we raised $900 and put very big smiles on that family's faces! In July I went to a Leadership Development Program at Winkler Bible Camp and made some life long friends and became so much closer with God. I also travelled out of the province for the first time with my LDP group, one of the most special experiences I've had. I changed for the good. Through July to August I worked 6 weeks plus 2 weeks of LDP at WBC and had the time of my life! Made so many good friends and I now have a big sister who I love to death! In September I started grade 10, yet again realizing how young I feel. In November Morden had a concert by The Letter Black and Seventh Day Slumber for a YC Manitoba Rally. It was an amazing night, and one of the best nights of my life. Then a week later I went on a youth retreat to Camp Arnes and got baptised in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues for the first time. I will never forget that experience. December rolled around and just last night I had an LDP reunion! We had a blast, we watched Star Wars, played Apples to Apples and Quelf, played in the snow, and talked for hours. Obviously, we did not get much sleep, but it was so worth it. I really believe that if you have God in any kind of relationship, whether it be friendship or a dating relationship, it'll work out. You'll have that person for a long, long time. And here we are. With a couple minutes left of 2010. It was gone in the blink of an eye.
I think that the big deal with a new year is the chance to start over. I'm going to start over. I'm going to be me. I don't want to care what people think about me anymore. I want to have confidence. I want to be comfortable in my own skin. But I want that confidence to come from God. That is my prayer request to you guys. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I love you guys, and I know you have a great year ahead of you! God is good.
God bless,
Ariel