Gripping Control

I sat on the horse, mentally forcing myself not to grip the saddle for support. When I first got on the horse, I thought it'd be impossible to let go of that saddle and not fall off. But as I gradually got used to it, and even learned how to make my horse go faster (though I'm still working on getting him to stop--I had a stubborn horse who refused to stop and would try to break out into a trot if I tried), I soon forgot about needing to hold on to something. I learned to keep my balance better, knowing that ultimately, I was going to need to learn how to ride without gripping on the saddle if I wanted to become good at it.


In our lives, it can be hard to let go and recognize that God is in control. It's in our human nature to want to be in control. But no matter how much we want to be in control--does that really change who is in control? Whether we would like to control or not, God is still in control. Isaiah 55:8 says, ""For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord." If you don't understand why something is happening in your life, that's okay, you don't have to. Just trust that God has a plan, He is in control. His ways aren't our ways, but that's okay, because His ways are higher than ours. We can't even begin to understand His ways. Let Him take control of your life.

Kayla Joy

Love Without Strings

(I was recently asked to submit my devotional stories to our church's monthly newsletter. This is one I'm considering using for February's newsletter on Valentine's Day.)

                                Love Without Strings

Kids pout if they don’t get a valentine card back from someone. Wives get frustrated if their husbands forget to do something special on Valentines Day. People are willing to give love, but only if there’s something in it for them. The difference between our love and God's love? God loves us without expecting anything back in return. He loves us undeservingly. Any love we show to others is but a poor mirror reflection of the incredible love God pours out freely on us.

Though God knows every sin we’ve ever committed and ever will commit, He still sent His only Son down to die for us. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” Jesus showed a true example of loving people while on earth. He loved lepers, sinners, tax collectors, poor and rich alike--He didn't decide to only love those who would love Him back. Even while hanging on the cross dying for our sins, He was loving us, taking our punishment for us. This Valentine's Day, how about showing love to someone whose not able to love you back? Maybe they’re physically disabled, maybe they’re too grumpy to love themselves, or maybe they’re not someone you would typically show love to. If we’re trying to be Christlike, why not love the unloveable without expecting something back in return? God certainly set the bar high by loving you and me.

Kayla Joy

Holding Tight Always

When I was little, I had a favorite stuffed dog named Gabby. I slept with this brown dog every night until she lost all of her fluff, lost her soft fur, and had an arm imprint from where I always wrapped my arm around her waist. I got a dog leash and took her to the park, zoo, anywhere I was, she was there with me. If I was going to bed and couldn't find her, there was no way I was going to sleep without her. I'd run all around the house trying to find her, in tears if I couldn't find her in the first five minutes. Most times she was either hidden under my blankets, sitting on the dining table chair (didn't I tell you I took her everywhere with me? Yep, I even took her to meals with me!), or on the couch. My parents were probably getting pretty frustrated with me insisting on sleeping with her, as it often resulted in a ten minute search for her, prolonging my bed time schedule. When I found her, I squeezed her tightly, sure I'd never lose her again, not even for a second.

We prefer to cling to God during hard times in life. Then, once things are going well, we decide we don't need Him for the time being and try to ignore Him. The truth? We need God always. We always need to be searching and seeking for God, wanting to grow in our relationship with God--through bad times and good times. God is so much bigger than any stuffed animal. Why can't we cling as close to Him as I clinged to Gabby?

Kayla Joy

Banging Ducks

When I was little, my sisters and I had our favorites 'must-see' spots at our local zoo. One of the spots we all loved going to was the bird house. We would speed walk past until we came to one of our favorite exhibits--a huge glass container of water, ducks, and duck poop. There was a corner in the glass exhibit that had a gush of water constantly pouring out of it. The stream of water was small, but the water rushed out at a fast speed, making a current in that corner. We spent hours sitting at that corner, laughing and pointing as the ducks crowded around that stream and tried to swim against it. The current pushed them against the wall, banging their heads, and they picked up their strength again and tried to fight the current once more. Every time we went to that exhibit it was the same--ducks fighting the strong current, only to get pushed back and bumped into the glass wall. We loved watching the dumb ducks banging their heads against the glass after failing their mission of fighting the current.

When we genuinely ask for forgiveness, God forgives us. Psalms 103:10-12 says, "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." Thankfully for us, He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve. Jesus paid the price for our sins. The bigger question is--do we forgive ourselves? After we mess up, it's easier to ask God for forgiveness, but it can be more difficult to forgive ourselves for what we did. There's no point in banging our heads against the glass. If God forgives us of our sins, shouldn't we forgive ourselves of it?

Kayla Joy

Following Humble Steps

Remember when we were young how important it was to be first in everything? First to the door, first to get a drink, first to get anything--it was all very important in at least my toddler mind. If I wasn't first, then I was at least going to be the first to throw a temper tantrum.

In Mark 9, we find a similar thing....except with adults. Mark 9:33-35 says, "They came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”"

To some degree, the disciples were embarrassed that they were fighting about such a childish thing. They didn't respond when Jesus asked them why they were fighting. Yet Jesus--knowing all of our thoughts before we think them--knew what they were fighting about and responded saying that the last shall be first. All of a sudden, the disciples were left speechless. The last shall be first? The servant of all? Isn't that a lot of work? 

Sadly, that's how a lot of us think. When we're doing some stinky job like changing the cat litter, we're not exactly singing praises to God for giving us cats. But why not? Why not humble ourselves? If we want to be first, then we need to humble ourselves and do the kind of jobs that servants would do. Jesus certainly gave perfect examples of that while He was here on earth. Can't we follow in His steps? 

Kayla Joy 

Pre-paired to Love

When my oldest sister, Alisa, was young, she used to convince my other sister, Abby, that unmatched socks were poor orphans without mothers. As a game to get Abby to fold socks, she told her she must find a match for the poor orphans--after all, what fate is bestowed upon an abandoned old sock but a life exiled away forever in a shiny trashcan? Abby vigilantly looked for matching socks, getting very upset whenever an orphan was found.

In life, we get paired with people we don't always enjoy the company of. Sometimes, in fact, we'd rather spend our day doing anything but being with that person. Maybe the person is pushy, maybe the person is rude and just plain mean, or maybe we really don't get along with the person, no matter how hard we try. The solution to getting along with the person? Love them anyways. They're not perfect, they are far from perfect. But keep in mind that you're far from perfect as well. If you're having trouble getting along with them, chances are they're having trouble getting along with you as well. If you're praying for their heart to soften, pray also that your heart would soften and God would show you what you need to change.

Mark 12:30-31 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.”". If we're supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves, why aren't we doing it? God has paired you with that person for a reason, try to encourage them instead of silently noticing each flaw. 


Kayla Joy

An End to The Cycle

I linked arms with my sisters and glided gracefully across the ice on the iceskating rink. Okay, so it wasn't gracefully, it was more like getting pulled to the ground every few minutes by either my own clumsiness or by my sisters, but I'd like to think it was graceful looking. Throughout each fall--whether it was a slow skid to my knees or a flat out fall on my face--I got back up on my feet, continuing to iceskate, not giving up simply because I'd fallen once. I knew that the ultimate prize--the pleasure of a day iceskating--greatly outnumbered any small bruise I was going to get.

In our walk as Christians, isn't it easy to want to stay on the ground once we fall? If we're sinning, sometimes we'd prefer to continue sinning. Or maybe we've sinned and are having trouble getting back on our feet again, having trouble seeing the purpose in trying when we know we're only going to fall once again. The solution to this never ending cycle? Get back up. Yes, you will fall again, you will sin. But because of Jesus' selfless act on the cross, the price has been paid for your sins. God's grace has you covered. On earth, it can be difficult to see the purpose of life. All we see is a never ending cycle of falling and getting back up only to fall once more. But we can trust that the ultimate prize--eternity in Heaven with Jesus--outweighs any kind of difficulty here on earth.

Kayla Joy