Hey my loves,

When we hear the word ‘conviction’, our instant thought is probably being guilty of a criminal offense by a jury or judge in a court of law. But that’s not the kind of conviction I want to blog about today.

Lately, things have been changing in my life that are stretching my growth, but it is also showing me how strong discernment can become as your relationship deepens with God. Lately, he has been speaking to my heart loudly. It seems things become more clear to my spiritual eye as parts of me are in the restoring process. What I mean by restoring is letting things go that doesn’t serve me any purpose, including toxic people, habits, guilts, bondage, and personal convictions. One of my traits I love and hate about me is that I care way too much sometimes even when I know the situation is out of my control. Even though I know this in my head, I still find myself trying to come up with a solution. One of the biggest lessons God is teaching me this year is knowing when to let go gracefully. He is teaching me to change my views and not be quick to judge things I haven’t experienced. He is showing me the true beauty of grace. He is showing me to let go of my personal convictions, so I can be free. In 2019 I lost loved ones, friends, and grudges. God shows me the ways of grace and how to treat people with grace as I would want them to treat me. In certain situations, I had to change my perspective and look at the other’s person’s perspective. Even when my flesh thinks my perspective is right, I still pray knowing the end result is in God’s hands, not mine. I also accept that everyone will not hear your side of the story and people will always tell the version that makes them look better. Give it to God. The best revenge is moving on with love and letting him handle the rest.

Personal convictions are the things that hurt us at the core. It may be things we choose to ignore or it can be things we are yearning to restore. People may have hurt us in the past and we repeat the cycle through our children because that’s the kind of behavior we was taught. As adults, there a lot of things we must “unlearn” when we realize and identify the things that convict us. Our convictions can affect the way we treat ourselves, our family, our thinking, and how we perceive love. God is the healer of all things; he gives us the resilience to handle it all if we choose to accept that precious gift from him.  Some people make a choice to not face their own personal convictions, and you give those type of people to God. It’s not your battle to fight. We all have faced challenges and struggles in life; the only difference is some people choose to play victim and some people choose to conquer. Healing is not pretty. There will be days where your strength is tested and you’re ready to throw in the towel. There will be days where your convictions may seem bigger than you can bear. There will days where you feel like you are drowning in sorrow. There will be growing pains that will make you a champion in the end.  It’s going to make you proud of the pain. It’s going to make you glad that you didn’t give up.

Is change fun and easy? NO. Is it essential for personal growth towards a better you? YES. God can give the gift of discernment, where every decision you make in life will be based on the choices you make as well. And both choices will have an effect on your life.

Every time I deny my first mind, I pay for it. Every time I say YES, when my answer is NO, I pay for it.”

-Myleik Teele

Some of us hold on to our convictions because its a safety net and change is uncomfortable and scary. Discernment shows us lessons will be repeated until they are learned. It is scary not knowing what the end result will be, but your fate can’t be taken from you. What God has for you will be for you. God has a gift called faith.  All you need is the belief the size of a mustard seed to put fear to the side…and manifest what you believe.

Until next time,

Zip.