When God Introduces You to Yourself Again

I've noticed something over the last few years…The closer I've drawn to God, the more He's been introducing me to... ME. Not a new version of me but the version He knew all along. Isn't that funny?.. We spend so much of life trying to become someone and then God gently whispers, "What if I just reminded you of who I created you to be?" One of the first things He reminded me of was writing. Actually... before I tell you that story, let me tell you about my unhealthy relationship with journals. 😂 I genuinely believe buying a new journal gives me an unreasonable amount of joy. A cute notebook, leather cover, thick pages..Don't tempt me. I'll convince myself I absolutely need another one, even though I have enough journals to last me until Jesus comes back. But the funny thing is.. I’ve always been like this, long before they were called journals, I had diaries 😂 I remember writing about everything. My day. My thoughts. My little dreams. Looking back, I don't even think I realised I was processing life. I just knew that putting pen to paper somehow made everything feel lighter.

Then high school came… During one particular season, our school experienced the heartbreaking loss of several learners who took their own lives.. and I guess our teachers wanted to understand what was happening beneath the surface, so every learner was given a journal. Every week we wrote and handed them in every Friday for our class teacher to read them. We did this not because we were great writer or even for marks but because someone cared enough to ask, "How are you... really?”.  Looking back now, I don't think they realised what they were giving me. They gave me permission to be honest.. to name what I was feeling.. to write the things that were easier to put on paper than to say out loud. And I've been writing ever since. Well... mostly. Because if I'm being honest, there was a long season where I stopped. Life got busy and somewhere in the middle of trying to be responsible, productive and everything else life asked of me, I quietly stopped writing. I didn't even notice I'd left that part of myself behind until a few years ago.

As I started taking my walk with God more seriously, something unexpected happened. The closer I drew to Him, the more He started reminding me of the things that used to make my heart beam with joy. Like writing, singing and books. And this wasn’t because He was giving me new gifts but because He was reintroducing me to gifts He had placed in me long before life became noisy. I still laugh because I buy physical books knowing very well there's a good chance I'll end up listening to them on Audible. 😂 God and I are still working on that one. But even in that, I feel His gentle invitation to slow down and pause. To sit with a real book again..to write with an actual pen..to stop rushing through life long enough to notice what He's saying. And I think that's really why “The XURI Life” exists, not because I have life figured out.. I am far from it.. TRUST ME!! This is simply my little corner of the internet where I get to slow down and tell stories to remember God's faithfulness and to write about the things He's teaching me in ordinary moments.

If you're here expecting perfect answers, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for honest conversations, stories, laughter, tears and the occasional reminder to stop buying journals you don't need... I think you'll feel at home here. And who knows…maybe while reading these entries, you'll remember something that used to make your own heart beam with joy or maybe God has been trying to introduce you to yourself again too.

A Prayer

Father,

Thank You. Thank you for never giving up on the parts of us that life causes us to forget. Thank You for gently reminding us of the gifts, passions and joys You planted in us long before we understood why they were there. Teach us to slow down, to pay attention and to have the courage to steward whatever You're restoring in this season. Amen.

A Question to Ponder

What is one thing that used to make your heart beam with joy that you've quietly left behind? Maybe it's not gone..maybe God is gently inviting you back to it.