Grateful for AMTC
As I get ready for SHINE, I decided to write a blog on how grateful I am for this opportunity because it is God that has brought me to this place, and I couldn't have made it this far on my own. Never did I think I could be this close to my dreams. For a long time, it was just that: a dream. Not a reality. I've wanted to act since I was a kid; I wanted to be a songwriter since I got my guitar at 16; but fear and circumstances kept getting in the way of my dreams. I'm glad I got to do some growing up, and I'm glad I have a relationship with God that I did NOT have as a kid or at 16. Don't get me wrong, I believed in God, but I didn't truly know Him like I do now, and I definitely didn't know my identity in Him. I was searching for all sorts of things at 16, and if I had pursued these dreams at that age, I think it would have been the death of me. God knew in His infinite wisdom the proper timing for me to start pursuing my dreams.
With all that said, I am grateful for where I am today and the adventure I am about to embark on because it has taken me a LIFETIME to get here (atleast 29 years- that feels like a lifetime at this point!). I am grateful that God has given me this open door of opportunity that I didn't have a year ago. It was He that showed me the billboard after I prayed for a sign that I could use these gifts for His kingdom (I got a literal sign!), He that allowed me to get a callback for my audition, He that provided a job so I could pay for this endeavor, He that has given me these gifts of writing songs and having a desire to perform.
Ever since I graduated college, these are the things I wanted to pursue. But rejection and student loan debt and fear were all obstacles I had to face, and at the time, I didn't know how to overcome. Over time and growth, God showed me how to overcome these obstacles with His love. Knowing that my worth isn't based on my performance and that He has a good plan for me and that my life is centered on His promises, not the world's. These are all the things I had to learn to reach this point.
Even though it's been a long and arduous road, I am grateful that He didn't keep me in the dark places, where I stopped believing in myself and my dreams. I'm glad He kept these dreams alive in me and reawakened old ones. I'm grateful that He heard my prayers and didn't allow me to settle for a second-best life. I am forever grateful for the people at AMTC who have developed me as a performer and prayed over me and believed in me and also for my parents who have supported me and believed in me. I am grateful for a company that shares my passions and beliefs and who develops a purpose behind these passions of mine. Lord knows I don't like doing anything that serves no purpose! God gave me a purpose.
I am fearful, nervous, unsure, doubtful, but I am also hopeful and faithful that if He brought me this far, He will continue to open up doors of opportunity. I am praying that I will be ready and willing to walk through the open doors when He hands them to me. I am praying that He uses these gifts and passions in His ways, His timing, for His purposes. And I know He will because that's what He does! So whenever I feel afraid, which happens when we start pursuing our dreams, God will carry me through that season to the other side, and I'll be able to look back on a day like today and thank Him for how far He has carried me. That's what I'm thankful for today: I'm grateful that He has carried me this far because without Him, I would have given up, which I did many times. I would have settled for second best, for the world's options. Thank God He doesn't allow His children to do that! He presses purposes into our hearts, and when He does, He helps us pursue them. Look at Moses! He didn't believe in himself, but God did, and God sent him help to finish the job.
Just reading through this, I can see more faith than I had a year ago. More faith that I can do this, that I can reach my dreams, and that good things can and will happen. I need only to believe. And so do you.
With all that said, I am grateful for where I am today and the adventure I am about to embark on because it has taken me a LIFETIME to get here (atleast 29 years- that feels like a lifetime at this point!). I am grateful that God has given me this open door of opportunity that I didn't have a year ago. It was He that showed me the billboard after I prayed for a sign that I could use these gifts for His kingdom (I got a literal sign!), He that allowed me to get a callback for my audition, He that provided a job so I could pay for this endeavor, He that has given me these gifts of writing songs and having a desire to perform.
Ever since I graduated college, these are the things I wanted to pursue. But rejection and student loan debt and fear were all obstacles I had to face, and at the time, I didn't know how to overcome. Over time and growth, God showed me how to overcome these obstacles with His love. Knowing that my worth isn't based on my performance and that He has a good plan for me and that my life is centered on His promises, not the world's. These are all the things I had to learn to reach this point.
Even though it's been a long and arduous road, I am grateful that He didn't keep me in the dark places, where I stopped believing in myself and my dreams. I'm glad He kept these dreams alive in me and reawakened old ones. I'm grateful that He heard my prayers and didn't allow me to settle for a second-best life. I am forever grateful for the people at AMTC who have developed me as a performer and prayed over me and believed in me and also for my parents who have supported me and believed in me. I am grateful for a company that shares my passions and beliefs and who develops a purpose behind these passions of mine. Lord knows I don't like doing anything that serves no purpose! God gave me a purpose.
I am fearful, nervous, unsure, doubtful, but I am also hopeful and faithful that if He brought me this far, He will continue to open up doors of opportunity. I am praying that I will be ready and willing to walk through the open doors when He hands them to me. I am praying that He uses these gifts and passions in His ways, His timing, for His purposes. And I know He will because that's what He does! So whenever I feel afraid, which happens when we start pursuing our dreams, God will carry me through that season to the other side, and I'll be able to look back on a day like today and thank Him for how far He has carried me. That's what I'm thankful for today: I'm grateful that He has carried me this far because without Him, I would have given up, which I did many times. I would have settled for second best, for the world's options. Thank God He doesn't allow His children to do that! He presses purposes into our hearts, and when He does, He helps us pursue them. Look at Moses! He didn't believe in himself, but God did, and God sent him help to finish the job.
Just reading through this, I can see more faith than I had a year ago. More faith that I can do this, that I can reach my dreams, and that good things can and will happen. I need only to believe. And so do you.
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