You have been given a gift; a function to serve in this world. God gave it to you, for reasons that are all His own. It is very easy to look at what's been given to you generically, assuming it is the same thing others have been given.

There were many moments throughout my childhood when I was reminded that I was bigger than other boys. That fact made me awkward around other people (thinking) I couldn't be cool, or ultimately accepted by my peers because I was a "husky kid".

No one knows how much you've grown, like you. You know exactly where you have come from, how you used to be, and how you have matured. You've changed.

There is a statement going around, that honestly makes me cringe just about every time I hear it. “They’re in their feelings.” It’s not so much the words that are spoken, it is usually the tone in which they are spoken. It usually sounds condescending, almost like mockery.

“God overcame our cultures to reach us where we are, so why can't we overcome someone else's ethnic, social, or political cultures to simply love and respect them?”

The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer and self-denial, by the means of giving up something that is dear. While many people are giving up cow’s meat, carbs, or caffeine, here are a few suggestions that might prove more beneficial:

“With this longing for relationship and the fulfillment that comes from them, there is also the reality that every relationship comes to an end.”

“New year's day always brings about a grand sense of renewed hope and optimism but is rarely met with consistent discipline.”

There is this notion that "respect must be earned." I've heard this all of my life and have pretty much always fallen in line with that thinking. However, the older I get the more I realize that this is NOT the way things should be.

I understand the awareness of challenges, and the mindfulness of limitations, but don't allow your view of yourself to stop you. Place your limitations in the hands of God.