Laura M.
I am so excited to introduce you to Laura, today. Laura shared with us her thoughts on trust, a podcast that has been helping her in her spiritual journey, disconnecting from our phones, and a powerful lesson we can learn from Ruth, when life turns out to be less than perfect.
Thank you for your service, Laura!
Laura M.
“I feel truly blessed to live in America and to be so privileged. My problems aren’t even problems.”
Spiritual growth focus at the moment: My spiritual growth focus at the moment is getting to a deeper level of trust with the Lord. I’m at a season in my life where’s there are a lot of unknowns, and I’m worried about the future. I’m just trying to get to a place where I trust God fully, because hello, He’s proven trustworthy time and time again. Reminding myself that everything that happens is for me (Romans 8:28) really helps me trust.
Profession: Active duty soldier in U.S. Army. Student. Writer.
A one sentence bio of yourself: Sharing the Love that set me free, through my writing.
When did you first encounter God? I was on my knees crying out to God, in front of my mirror, while feelings of unworthiness and guilt poured out of me. I asked God if He was real, and I remember vividly seeing the curtain on my window move– there was no wind. This overwhelming feeling of peace washed over me and a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. I knew then He was real, and He was with me always.
“I knew then He was real, and He was with me always.”
What has helped you grow spiritually in this season? I heard a podcast the other day, called: Standing In A Season Of Trial, from Give Grace Podcast. It helped me immensely, as I’ve been struggling with doubt and trusting God’s plan for my future. So, as odd as it might be, listening to podcasts has helped me grow spiritually, this season.
“[L]istening to podcasts has helped me grow spiritually, this season.”
Just read/currently reading: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. I recommend it for women who want to learn how to just be and not get so caught up in their everyday.
Top three essentials: A pen and notepad, my Bible, and my iPhone, for pictures and music. (I really don’t care if I have service or not!).
How did God speak to you recently? God spoke to me recently, through a friend. I was struggling in my mind with all these crazy thoughts about my relationship. My friend just told me, ‘Maybe God’s trying to show you what you think about Him, today.’ To me, that was a really confrontational response because it made me realize, wow, I need to pay attention to my thoughts. Since that moment, I’ve been working on my thought life and have been more positive. It’s amazing what outlook really does.
Hobby: Yoga! Where are my fellow yogis at? I’d always love someone to hold me accountable to practice more!
Top three practical tips for staying spiritually strong:
1) Put down the phone! A lot of the times, when I begin to feel unworthy or weak in my faith, it’s because I’ve been comparing my own faith to someone else’s by staring and scrolling at their Instagram feed.
As far as I can remember, faith is the things not seen (2 Corinthians 4:18) and a lot of the time, I feel like society puts on a show for us: ‘Oh she has a perfect Instagram feed and 10K followers, so therefore she must have amazing faith,’ however, that’s not often the case. Faith isn’t represented by outwardly things such as, clothes, Instagram feeds or how much money we give during offering. Faith is felt on the inside and shown by how we love others. So, we need to be cautious about what we are feeding ourselves and fix our eyes in the things not seen. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
2) Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s okay if you don’t read your Bible every day. It’s okay if you can’t make it to church one [time]. God’s not going to condemn you for not performing perfectly because hello, He knows we’re not perfect. We need to stop being so hard on ourselves and take life day to day. It’s something I’m still working on and doing my best to live out.
3) Have someone in your life you can talk to, even if it’s just God. Often times I’ll just be in my car driving, and I’ll find myself talking to God like a friend. It’s very healing to share everything that’s on my heart with just God and me in my car. Find someone in your life– a mentor, a friend, a parent, who you can share your heart with, without feeling nervous or judged. I promise you, it’s a freeing experience.
“Faith isn’t represented by outwardly things such as, clothes, Instagram feeds or how much money we give during offering. Faith is felt on the inside and shown by how we love others. So, we need to be cautious about what we are feeding ourselves and fix our eyes in the things not seen.”
Favorite person in scripture? Ruth is my favorite person in Scripture because I love how devoted she was to her mother-in-law. She had this huge declaration of love and loyalty that was so pure and unselfish. I feel like in today’s society, it’s easy for us to want to start over when we lose someone or something. For instance, say a divorce happens and suddenly you’re not just losing a husband, you’re losing a family as well. But Ruth shows us it doesn’t have to be like that. Ruth shows us that we can choose to be devoted and loyal, even when things aren’t perfect.
“Ruth shows us that we can choose to be devoted and loyal, even when things aren’t perfect.”
What do you want people to learn about God when they look at you? When people look at me, I want them to learn that God loves them. I know how hard it is to feel like you matter and that you’re words bring meaning. It’s taken a lot for me to get to the place where I find my worth in Jesus, and if I’m being honest, it’s something I have to choose everyday. That’s the beautiful thing about God, He gives us the option to live in His love and grace. I’m so grateful that He’s never given up on me. So I just want people to realize God is loving and He cares for you.
Favorite season? Fall. I can’t get enough of the sweet autumn bliss. I will forever love how the leaves change color, the crisp fall air, morning fog, and of course, the smell of pumpkin and spice.
Favorite holiday? Christmas. I love celebrating a whole day dedicated to the Savior’s birth.
A special tradition you and your family engage in or keep: My family and I always take trips to national parks. I love when we go on these adventures because they’re such a fun, bonding experience.
Question you will ask when you get to heaven? Did I do enough for you God? I don’t know. I probably shouldn’t ask that because at that point it won’t matter… So many questions I’d like to ask! I don’t think I could list them all.
Thing you want to raise awareness about: Jesus.
What do you usually do before 9 a.m.? PT 0530-0800. Then, I’ll attempt to squeeze in a quick Scripture reading. Usually, I end up listening to K-Love. Lesson: If you don’t have enough time to spend quality time with God, music works just the same.
Define Christianity in a sentence: Christianity is knowing that who you are in Christ is enough and that you don’t have to compare, compete or measure up in this life because eventually, you’ll have eternal life if you live righteously for Christ.
For more Laura:
Insta: @freelovedandworthy_
Blog: Free, Loved and Worthy
Until next time, keep witnessing!
XOXO
Gabriela Yareliz
Gabriela is a writer, editor and attorney. She loves the art of storytelling, and she is based in NYC.
MODERN WITNESSES 