70 years later...

For I know the plans I have for you; plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

I have this hanging in my house, too. It makes me feel good when I see it. When I sat down to share my thoughts on this verse, I figured I would give it a goog and see what the pros had to say. I was disappointed in what I found; that this verse was for every girl claiming to be religious and that it's constantly taken out of context. That people don't understand its true meaning. That it makes for a good instagram post or stereotypical tattoo. Feels a little judgey if you ask me. I don't ever plan on teaching a Sunday school class, but if I did, I most certainly wouldn't shut a kid down for their interpretation of God's words. Take what you want out of this verse. It's beautiful and it's uplifting. It's powerful. It's whatever you want it to be. I'm not a pastor or a prophet, but I'm pretty sure God would say that, too. And who's business is it anyway if you wanna get a Bible verse tattooed on your rib? That butterfly on Stacy's lower back isn't my personal style, but I'm not shaming her.

But in its true context, God is speaking to the Israelites as a group of people. They were exiled to Babylon and lost hope. Through Jeremiah, God says 'For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

And he doesn't miraculously free them of every worry. He tells them to build houses, and get married, have children, plant gardens. To move forward with their lives and prosper. He'll bring them back to Israel... In 70 years. Oof.

So it's not like you can sit back and relax and God will take care of everything. Life might suck. And you're gonna have to work for things. And you can't just look up and wonder when God is gonna step in to take over. You have to keep moving and trust that EVENTUALLY, God will bring you to exactly where you need to be. And you'll understand why. So find love, and create art, and appreciate all you have. Live in the present and you'll be rewarded in the end.

There was a time in my life I lived in Arizona. You know how as you grow older you learn more about yourself? Well I learned I freakin hate being hot. I haaaaate it. I'm physically uncomfortable if I can feel a bead of sweat in my hair. That's why I don't jog. Just kidding. I don't jog because I don't want to. And because 40% of dateline episodes involve a female jogger running alone. That's why. So Arizona. It's hot. Really hot. And for some reason I thought it would be a wonderful idea to live there. I moved in with my sister and decided to get my Masters Degree at Arizona State. Let's be clear, the heat wasn't the only thing I hated about this sauna of a state. Everything is beige, too. A lot of weird things happened and in the end my sister moved back home to Massachusetts. And there I was, hot and alone. I was in the middle of receiving my Masters Degree in Special Education and knew I couldn't bail again. I was gonna tough it out. And it sucked. I got a job and I met a couple great people who were so incredibly kind and I'm forever grateful for that. I face-timed my family on Thanksgiving and made a Marie Callender's turkey pot pie with some stove top stuffing. Did I love it? Yes. But I would have loved it more with my family. When I finished my Masters I finally moved 'home' and celebrated my return with a stereotypical wrist tattoo that says 'be strong.' And I still love it. I look at it every day and I know that I was able to get through the worst time in my life and I have something to show for it. A tattoo that no one can read but me. Joking. I have my degree in Special Education to show for it, which earned me a job in my home town, teaching kids that have changed my life. You're going to have to struggle. God's not going to give you the easy way out, and you shouldn't want that anyway.

So if you like it, make a sign out of it and hang it up in your house. Look at it every day. You might get a new meaning every time. Or pay $80 to get a few words needled into your wrist. I did. And who am I, or anyone else, to say you're wrong? I think that's why people step away from spirituality, because it's scary to dive into something so deep. Where people have embraced religion since birth and asking questions is uncomfortable. Look at me.. I have zero idea what I'm talking about, yet here I am. Diving in. When you stop caring so much about what other people think you can go on your own spiritual journey. And think of it as spirituality instead of religion and it can be whatever you want it to be. No judgment.

Enjoy the moment.

xoxo

Tayla