What defines your life // corona times

Apr 15

Next up in our Light Hearted Corona Content - mini series is a beloved friend I met in Norway, her name is Sandrine. She’s one of the most encouraging people I know, and it is an honour to have her here on AWH, and hopefully not the last time, ey? Anyway, I’ll let her introduce herself..

Hello,
My name is Sandrine
- I am 23 years of age, I love to dance, write, read and shop. It is ridiculous how much I love shopping and also ridiculous how little reading I have been doing lately.
- I grew up in a town called Skien, but I currently live in Stavanger (Norway).
- On a typical day, you can find me on my couch watching some show or movie, or a YouTube video with a chocolate bar.
- Currently studying at Hillsong Academy for a year, going through some cool classes such as: Personal Development, Leadership, Theology, Cultural Understanding and Organization, etc.

Anyways, something that has been on my mind lately is; what drives a person? It may seem like an odd question when said out loud but, what drives a person to do what (s)he does. During these hard seasons, with Corona going on, and probably some people already had other worries, obstacles and difficulties to think about. What makes one get up in the morning and seize the day.
I’ve been articulating about it.
Some may have a love in their life, a love that motivates them.
It can be a loved one, a job, a hobby, work or somebody at work that makes them excited to go to work for.
Some may have a goal they aspire to reach: money, status, a house.
Humans are really fascinating creatures, the way we perceive things.
I want to challenge you reading this:
It’s an easy challenge and something you probably have time to do.
Ask yourself these questions:
What makes me get up in the morning? what keeps me going?
Who am I? and what do I value? and do I actually try to live by these values?
Our world is always changing, but are we as individuals taking time to evolve as well.
I think it’s important to sit back for a while every now and then and soak up the good things in life, cherish the moments you have with the people you love and ask yourself if you are enjoying it, if you are not then, perhaps you should do something about it.
As a Christian, I also believe that God intended us to live life to the fullest.
To explore the world, to change, to have radical experiences. Enjoy everything, the good, the bad, there’s growth in pain. Pain is not always fun, or most cases is not fun at all but I feel like if you turn your perspective, there’s hope for something better. Life can be good or bad, depending how you view it.
Something that I am learning to accept, understand and comprehend is that my life is not defined by my circumstances, and neither am I.
Change is good and I am learning to accept it.
I also want to encourage you to appreciate and be grateful for your friends who actually make an effort to speak your love language to you.
I see a lacking of that in my world, and maybe you do too.

And lastly I want to encourage you with some words from one of my favorite authors

“Desire that your life count for something great! Long for your life to have eternal significance. Want this! Don’t coast through life without passion.”
– John Piper, excerpt from ‘Don’t Waste Your Life'

Change and pain is something that doesn’t define us, but yet they shape us.
They help us see clearer and get a better understanding.
Find hope in knowing that just because it feels like you are going through something alone, there’s somebody else going through the same experience as you.
If this whole corona situation has showed us, it is that we are all on this planet together, not every experience is universal, but we are never alone in this struggle.