Author-Andrea Haynes

Sunday morning, every Sunday night, every Wednesday and with all of the youth events growing up. I mean I even had a mother who made sure God was talked about, preached about & sang about BUT I still didn’t personally know him. Just of him. Just like you can go to a sporting event multiple times each year and know certain facts about it. Facts like how many teams play, how many innings there are, the task of certain players, but never really know how it all works/is played.
Oh friends, it’s a complete black and white, day and night difference once you do truly know Him. I have been by far the “perfect” Christian- if there is even such a thing. Do you know where the term “Christian” comes from? It comes from the Greek word christianos meaning “Little Christ.” It was meant to be a mockery of Christ followers back in Bible times. As in “look, there’s the ‘little Christ.’” But what non-believers meant as an insult became a blessing for billions of people. What a perfect term for us Christ followers! Little Christ. Perfect because that’s what we should be seen as, Little Christ, as in seen as “just” like Him. Made in His image. Our character refined to be like His. A continuous reflection of Jesus.
So when I say I was “by far the perfect Christian” I mean I was not behaving as a Little Christ. The complete opposite actually. Behaving the exact way the enemy wanted me to; building walls to separate me from my Father. BUT let me tell you EACH time God draws me back in, it’s like an instant switch is turned back on; aka the light of God is back on the inside. Instantly knowing right from wrong again thanks to past knowledge and the gentle nudges from the Holy Spirit.
Each time I don’t know why I even left. There is such a sweet, sweet peace in His presence. A peace that NOTHING else can match. No man, no woman, no friendship, no hobby, no drink, no pill, no drug, no job- NOTHING. However, that’s what the enemy wants us to think. That those things will help fill that void. He wants to build up walls and keep us occupied with anything other than the one thing that will truly fill that longing. What we are actually yearning for is a personal relationship with God. Don’t get me wrong relationships are important. I mean the Bible even says “it’s not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18 NIV) BUT the most important relationship we need to cultivate is our relationship with the one who should mean the most in our lives- God. 
If we have a strong foundation, relationship, with Him, then it helps all of our other relationships bloom. Including the one with ourselves. Just like most flowers can’t grow on rocky foundations neither can our relationships. Don’t get me wrong; there are some flowers that can grow on rocky foundations, but they have shallow roots, low water needs, & low nutrient needs. That’s not us friends! With shallow roots, they can be easily ripped up and blown away. We need DEEP, unshakable roots.
We need TONS of water. Did you know our bodies are made up of 60% water? The brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%. So we literally need water to survive. The kind you drink and living water. Jesus says in John 4:14 “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Fulfilling nutrients are also a must for us. And nothing can fill us up like Christ. He fills us with the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV). There are no other fulfilling nutrients like the ones Christ gives. I mean He is the bread of life (John 6:48)!
I pray today that we will all seek Him. Seek to truly know our Father. The one who sees every single flaw, every single mistake, every time we fall down, every scar that we made ourselves or others gave us BUT loves us anyway. The one who sees us the same way He did when He formed us in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5). I pray you come to know Him on a personal level. A closeness that fills the void, heals even the deepest scars, breaks the chains that hold you down and makes it where you can finally breaths again.