From Conviction Comes Conformation & Encouragement

Okay, here I go… when we’re busy with our everyday lives it’s easy to be blinded to what God is doing. I know this first hand now as I spent my summer serving and not realizing the things that God was preparing me for. So often we make plans only to see them changed because our will is not God’s will. I learned that at Biola and this time, it hit harder. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to act. I played Dorothy my Freshmen year and continued to excel in other roles. So, I was no surprise that I was super stoked this year to be a Senior in my drama class… but two and a half weeks into it I was faced with a decision. A tough one at that. Someone had told me that I acted different in that class.. Of course I knew I did cause I was acting but it struck a chord with me. I began to pray about it and asked around. Not one person could say anything about it.. I was still unsure what was meant by that comment and I felt that something needed to be done. Earlier in the summer, I had plans to do so much after school only to have that shot down because Drama was a later class… now I see that it wasn’t God’s plan for me to forget about those other options. Even though many people couldn’t understand it, I knew God was convicting me.. The question was: “What did I want more?” An extracurricular activity to put on my college app or a stronger relationship with the one who changed my life? The decision was easy. However, I needed conformation that this was the right thing to do. So I picked up this incredible book I had been readying about relationships, fiction and interesting. When I began to read the next marked page I came across a familiar scripture found in 1 Corinthians 15: 33 “Bad company corrupts good morals.” That’s all I needed. I knew that my witness was being jeopardized. So after much convincing to my dad and talking with my principal, I dropped the class. It was the whole reason I wanted to be at school, but it was true… I didn’t like who I was in that class because it was easy for me to be influenced….unfortunately. Now, some say that it would’ve been easier to stay and just practice on my behavior. Yes, that’s true. That being said God gave me the opportunity to share my beliefs and show others my love for Him by walking away… Many who hear this or read it may not get, especially if you’re not a Christian. But God showed me and gave me so many amazing people to encourage me through this whole thing even with my classmates who took the news hard. Since then, I have been able to plan out other things like volunteering at church, working out at the gym, and even going home to take a nap which I haven’t done since Freshmen year. God is good and in times when we have to make a tough decision, I will encourage you to make the one that will draw you closer to the Savior… Until next time, Blessings and Love :) Alayna