For two years I lived in a dark place. I lived in pain and sadness; I thought I would never be happy again. I remember laying on my floor and asking God to send Jesus to return so I wouldn’t have to live anymore. I didn’t know how to escape, nor did I think I needed to. I had been hurt so much I didn’t think I would ever feel “normal” again.
If you are living anything like this, let me tell you, you don’t have to! You are loved too much by God to be living the way I was living. God doesn’t want us “just to get by”, or just simply “survive”; He wants us to live our lives to its fullest for Him and His glory. We just have to be brave enough to see it.
If you are tired of living in confusion, hurt, pain, and anger or if you are tired of putting a mask on every time you go out in the world, here are a few things I would have told my past self to do:
1. Prayer! Start by praying (See My Heart’s Story…Part 1&2). Tell God everything. If we can’t be vulnerable with God, than who can we be vulnerable with? I can’t tell you what to pray, but I can tell you that your Heavenly Father is listening and is waiting for you to come home (Matthew 21:20-22).
2. Get to the root of the problem. For me, I had built walls around my heart. I started thinking of ways to tear them down and started letting people in (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
3. Let God take over! Let God help you fight your battles. Let God help you become the person He created you to be. Let God be the center of your life. Let Him be the reason for your smile (Philippians 1:6).
Before we close out, I want to end with a quote I found not too long ago.
“Love takes off a mask that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” – James Baldwin (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17).
Alyssa Rasor
Magnified 
Amazing and so on point! Yes, we all are bombarded with life’s crazy issues, but those who truly believe in God will do the necessary steps to climb out. Yes, we need to put our burdens in perspective and reality.
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