21.

I will be 21 next month and something feels different about turning this age. I'm not talking about the obvious fact that I will be able to drink alcohol and stay in a hotel room by myself. This next year of life, the only year I will ever be 21, feels like something is going to change. Whether that be in my job, what college I'm going to or what city I will live in. I feel as though it will be the year of risks. It seems as though every year I feel like something is going to change, and it usually does. Just little things have changed this year, nothing too gargantuan. I feel as though this year that I've been twenty I have learned a lot more about faith, trusting Jesus, and obedience - especially with my resources.

The other day I was driving, saw a man with a sign that read "Old Vet"... I felt Jesus telling me to give him $20. I hesitated only for about 3 seconds before I rolled down my window and gave him $20. Two years ago, I probably would have argued with Jesus for 5 minutes before grumpily obeying out of fear that God would punish me. This year I have gotten a lot more "open-handed" with what I have and have realized that it is truly His in the first place, not mine, he has just given it to me to be a steward of. Sure, I miss the mark a lot of times and blow my money on something trifling, but Jesus has so much grace towards me that he gently corrects me. Anyways, the point is not me giving $20.00 to some homeless man. For all I know, he could drive a BMW and live in a penthouse, and use the money to buy drugs but that is not the point if he does or not. If I knew good and well that he drove a BMW and lived in a penthouse, was doing drugs and I felt Jesus telling me to give him that money and I didn't - I would be just as wrong. The point is obedience, which I have been taught a lot this past year. What I keep in mind when I feel Jesus telling me to give something of myself or my resources is the fact that I am not only doing it for that person at the moment, I am doing it for Jesus and what I do for Him in this life will also carry over into the next.

Corey and I read this verse a while ago and it has really stuck with me the past 6 months, showing me a true picture of Jesus and what it really means to be obedience:

Matthew 25: 35-40 (NLT):

"For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’