When you go to college, you have the opportunity to attend events where speakers come to impart their wisdom and lessons they've ;earned through an array of experiences, both good and bad. Mississippi State is no different; one of our own sororities on campus, Delta Gamma, invited Korie and Sadie Robertson to speak.
The two are most well known for their appearances on the A&E TV show Duck Dynasty. These women, however, are much more than the glitz and glam of TV. They're just another mother and daughter team trying to battle this crazy world.
Regardless, the message they brought with them to Starkville resonated deeply with me, and I feel like it's my duty to pay it forward.
1. "Stop praying for your situations and pray for your heart to change."
Often when a distressing event happens to us, we'll ask God to fix our mistakes or to fix the situation, but we never ask Him to change our hearts, so we can grow stronger from it.
Sometimes in these events, we forget God altogether, and we act in ways that are led and endorsed by Him; frequently, we act in the heat of the moment and regret our decisions after the words have been said and feelings have been hurt.
We act rashly, and then we ask Him to fix it, but in these situations, we have to be careful to do and say things that follow God's plan.
I know that is easier said than done when we don't know exactly what that plan is ourselves, but if we get the feeling we shouldn't send that text, say those words, or do that one thing we know will hurt the other person the most, we should listen to that feeling. God is trying to change our heart then, so we don't pray for the situation later.
2. "God said, 'All I want for you is to be a sister and a friend to those who don't have a sister or a friend.'"
At some point in our lives, we've all had a moment where we've felt alone with no one to lean on, but we were not made to be alone. As insecure as we can get, we were made to be there for someone. We are enough for someone, even if that person isn't always who we think it will be.
It's important to always be amicable with those around us because we never know when something we think is small and inconsequential can make a big difference to someone else. We all have the power to change someone's life, most times for the better.
3. "God's plans are better than anything I could ever dream of or imagine. We put all these expectations on our lives, but if we let God have control of our lives, His plans are always better."
From an early age, we daydream about what our lives will look like as we get older. We begin setting expectations based on those daydreams.
For example, some might want to be married with kids by a certain age or have a high paying job before they die, but as we get older and these expectations aren't met, we begin to feel lost because we're out of "options."
On the other end of the spectrum, those expectations could actually be met, but they're not what we want anymore, but we were too blind to notice.
When we try to take the reins away from God, it is likely we'll ride down a path we were never meant to. The plans He has made for us are greater and more rewarding than we can fathom. We may not always understand His decisions, but the things they will lead to are worth any temporary tribulations because it will make us stronger and strengthen our trust in God.
4. "When the storm comes and the wind blows, they bend, but they're not going to break because their roots are deeper."
We all get weighed down by the burden of life and all it comes with. Some days, everything seems to hit us all at once; we'll have a week that seems unrelenting, and we're gasping for air.
It's like you're glued to the ground in the middle of a hurricane. Despite our feelings of doubt and hopelessness, we can overcome our struggles because we are stronger than we think we are.
When we feel down, it's important to get back to the things that make us happy and cherish them. Maybe you need to eat a few more french fries, stay in that bath a little longer, or read that next chapter.
As cliche as it is to say, "Rome wasn't built in a day," so don't make yourself think you have to be 100% all the time. You can only handle what you can because sometimes things can wait for tomorrow.
5. "Don't make your happiness dependent on someone else; be responsible for your OWN happiness."
As we're bustling along in life, it's easy to get sucked into doing things that we don't necessarily want to do but we do them anyway because it will make someone important to us happy, so we suffer through.
It's hard to realize that we can't sacrifice ourselves so much for others. Being selfless and caring doesn't mean overextending ourselves and forgetting who we are without someone else around us. It's easy to emulate others' behaviors when we spend an exponential amount of time with someone, but we have to remember to stay true to ourselves.
Sometimes we should say no, so we can stay happy. A happy you is more important than what you think you have to do to get someone to want to be around you. Remember, if they truly want to be around you they won't put themselves in a position to lose you. There is only one you, and there's a reason copy machines are only for paper.
