Will B.

It took me a very long time to realize who I am and what I am about; it was a long and hard journey of discovery. It was even harder to accept who I am and what I am about. Some things I like about myself and some I do not like as much, but I have grown to accept and love who I am and change the things I do not like about myself.

Changing ourselves for the better is a really hard task to begin and to succeed in and impossible to do if we do not know who and what we are all about. Changing all starts with accepting who we are in an honest and unbiased way, not who we think we are or who we want to be but who we really are at the core. It’s not easy. What are some of the good things you like about yourself? What are some things you do not like and want to change?

For myself I am extremely independent. I was made this way partly by choice and partly by circumstances. I have been on my own since I was 15 or 16 and have always had to rely on myself to get by, and with the exception of a few times I lived with my older or younger brother I have never had a safety net. Knowing this gives me certain strengths and certain weaknesses as well. Knowing this about myself I am better able to navigate through life and plan. The strength is: I don’t need to rely on anyone, this could also be considered a weakness but I will leave it in the strength category. A weakness of being independent as I am: not having a core group in my circle because I never learned the behavior of counting on others. This is a weakness because it comes with certain fears as well. At various parts of my life, I wondered, would I die alone? Would anyone remember me? What if I fall on hard times? What if I get in a wreck and have no car? The list is long. I was homeless twice and have always pulled myself back out of it but I am sure it would have been easier with a circle of close friends. Knowing these things about myself, I accepted it and chose to do something about the worrying part of it. I learned to trust God with my problems. Talk about a giant weight being lifted off my shoulders, the first time I earnestly went to God in prayer and left all my problems with him. I felt amazing and over time I grew this into a habit. I rarely worry about anything anymore. That’s not to say I fail to plan for things - I pray about my problems, leave those problems for God to control and then I make a plan for the problem knowing God has my back. Do you have something you want to change? The first step is knowing yourself and then accepting who you are, good or bad. Then you’re free to make the changes you want to make. This is Will B saying, God created the Universe; he can handle your problems if you let him.