It’s amazing to me how my priorities have shifted. "When I became a man, I put away childish things" Corinthians 13:11. When I decided to become a man in Christ, no longer a half hearted child who followed the way when it benefitted him, but a man who would devote himself to Christ, I asked God to show me what was standing between Him and I. I don’t desire to do the things I used to and I’m comfortable with that. My drive for things like fitness and martial arts has shifted to a drive for spiritual strength. Working out and martial arts are healthy habits and this isn’t to say that I’ll never go back to them on a much more limited basis, but they were the center of my life. My motto was ‘live for yourself’ and I did just that, I never compromised the time I spent trying to perfect my technique, my power, my speed, now all that time seems like a waste. I dedicated the time that I did and I achieved the rank I did and it will be an experience I will never forget but now it’s time to focus on what matters; God. I realized that these things could no longer be the center of my life, God wants all of me, so I gave up those things and He might give them back one day or He might not. Either way, it’s His Will that matters, not mine if He decides that where He wants me requires those skills than so be it but if not, that’s fine too. I want to be the most for God I can be, as close to Him as possible, I want for my only desire to be to do His Will. The things of this world, even this body, are far less important than what lies beneath. The spirit is what lives on, it’s the part of us that was built for eternity and it’s what allows us to be connected to God.. I began earnestly seeking Him a while ago and I felt a strange pull that I ignored. Finally I realized to get closer to God was up to me, I was putting things in between Him and I and then expecting Him to show Himself to me and just fit in somewhere in the grand plan of my life. I learned that He was and is there and I was impeding our relationship, not Him. I would have thought that giving up all these things would leave me feeling empty, but I’ve never felt more full, the things that I dedicated my time to were controlling and now I feel unburdened, I wasn’t fulfilled with my passions and I didn’t want to admit that to anyone. I covered up insecurities and emptiness in my life with these things, now I have gotten rid of them and God has unburdened the issues that were at the heart of it all. Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest onto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" Matthew 11:29-30. I used to focused on what I might lose in yielding to God, I used to pray to God as though I had no responsibility to Him, that He should reveal Himself to me on my terms. Now I see what I have gained and I’m happy to say my life is on His terms.