Thrive

There are a few lyrics from the Switchfoot song "Thrive" off of their album "Vice Verses" that I absolutely love:

"A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive"

And isn't that just how life feels sometimes? 

Void of a sense of intimacy and real joy, we go from thing to thing, task to task, meeting to meeting almost on autopilot. We are technically alive, but nothing about the way we feel inside or interact with people would give any indication that we are.

Much of the time, we get so used to it that we barely even notice our heart has become a little more hard and our will a little more weak. We remember how we used to feel, who we used to be, and the present just feels so....impossible. overwhelming. frustrating.

Was it meant to be like this? Were we meant to just "get through" each day?

I have to believe there is more. More than the anxiety, the fear, the need for control. There is no way we were given the gift of life just to use it to run the rat race for success and to get there at all costs.

There is no way we were created to only focus on ourselves and our needs, having no awareness of the people around us or the overwhelming love of the Father.

Believe me, I get it. We have to work while going to school while having a significant other while having friends while being involved in church while....etc.

Maybe there are some things in our life that we are investing time in that shouldn't be there, but for most of us it's all good and necessary stuff taking up our time.

                    "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you" - 1 peter 5:7

                                         If you are reading this and feel anxious. 
               Take a deep breath. Take 5 minutes. Turn off the computer, phone, etc. 
                             Bask in the love and mercy of our Heavenly Father. 
                   Feel His love for you. Breathe it in. Meditate on the above verse, 
                                        and understand 2 things about God:

                                                           He is strong.

                                          He loves you with a deep, deep love.

                                        Be STILL and KNOW that He is God.
            
                                                              Repeat.