Purple Thoughts

Thought #1: Yesterday in the paper my first column was published. I wrote about how desperate I get being in L.A without a car, just some funny nonsense about that. And just like I did when I wrote my columns last year, lots of people read it and approached me telling me how they really liked it.

Those compliments ended a two week period of melancholy semi-discouragement for me. I have written or photographed almost twenty different stories for the paper thus far, and nobody has said a single word about that. Not even my parents. So I start thinking my journalism skills are awful and jump into self-pity/frantic mode. I know that being on a daily schedule, I can't get as in-depth on my stories and some of them are single-source and "fluff". Need to work on that. But still, self-pity is lame.

But ANYWAY, the Holy Spirit just sorta smacked me upside the face yesterday. It was really quite simple -- the realization that I was absolutely thirsty for him and was looking for water in dry places -- like through journalism and affirmation.

It was realizing anew that reading about Him, hearing about Him, talking about Him, and most important, talking TO my Savior is the only thing that gives me joy. Real joy. Joy that I don't have to write funny columns or do something groundbreaking to earn. I missed that, and I had been spending so much time knowing I was thirsty for Him but still pushing it away. Why do I do that? I don't know.

Bottom line -- on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

Thought #2: At my friend's graduation the other day, one of the teachers spoke and said something very notable about gifts, which made me think. And although I don't remember what he said, here's what it made me realize.

We're not worth something because we have gifts. Our gifts -- academic, musical, athletic, artistic, mechanical -- don't infuse us with value.

We are valuable because we are God's children. God created us. And we can't hold our gifts over other people as if they make us superior for this reason: THEY ARE GIFTS. Gifts don't indicate the merits of the recipient but the merits of the giver. God gives his children gifts, and we should praise Him when we see them, but know that each of his creations are inherently valuable -- apart from their gifts -- because God is their Creator.

Oooooh, that's just cool.