French Press Coffee and Open Eyes

I'm learning how to make french press coffee, and all the other times I've made it it has come out too watery and weak..... so I went for it again, and well... it is eye opening. And Good. (that WHAAAAAohmygoodnessNowI'mawake-kinda good) Which is very fitting for today is the first day that my eyes have been open in other ways as well.

I wrote a long version of my eyes being opened, but it is long, rambling, and slightly more poetical then I like to post on the internet... ;) But this is the point.

It is so easy to live for the here and now--
To get caught up in what is expected
To worry more about what I will eat and what I will drink
To get hopeless because I have trouble seeing hope for tomorrow
To keep my eyes on the things around me
To keep my eyes fixed on me and my problems

BUT THAT"S NOT WHAT ITS ABOUT.
THERE IS MORE TO THIS LIFE

And that is what I remembered.
There is more than me
And no matter how I logically reason
when I fix my eyes on myself and what I "should be" I will not find hope.
I will find all I need when I fix my eyes on Jesus and do what it takes to live for Him.

And it is not some formula. I've tried and tried to figure out how to be perfect and be a better person for Him--but the truth is--HE LOVES ME. HE LIKES ME.
I've just got to be me, and keep my eyes on Him.
I realized today that I have even been trying to fit into what I perceive people's expectations to be... even in Christian circles--everywhere. Somehow I feel that I have to be more than I am.

But really get this. --I am speaking to me just as much as I am speaking to you--
God created the church, the body of believers
And each person was created differently with different weaknesses and strengths
Each to work together to make One whole body with Christ as the head
So what happens if one part tries to be another part, for the eye to be just like the nose...
things don't go well.
We need people to be different.
We MUST be different.

Ah, even as I typed that it felt so elementary--But IT IS REAL. And for the first time I think I know that with my heart and not just my head. I need to be me so I can serve God and serve the Body of Christ.

And can I just say this-- different is not something that is like the Other different people. Yes, I came back from IHOP with dreadlocks, I more around a bit more in worship and I tend to sing really loudly... but I don't need to try and be an IHOPer or be that crazy person in worship--I just need to be me and move as Holy Spirit leads.
I don't know how much of what I am saying makes sense--but really. When I say it is Okay and AWESOME to be different. I mean different, not just some other brand of "normal" that I have okayed, like really.
BE YOU. WE NEED YOU TO BE YOU.
You were made perfectly.
So be who you are and love God.
Love people and let's learn to enjoy each other, let's learn how to enjoy US as God made us.