Danielle Sutherland’s Blog

So I know my blog has been, for the most part, pretty silly. But every now and again I write something seriously from the heart. Being transparent is not something I do naturally, but the more I do it the more I like it, weird. Anyways, this is going to one of those, so if you don’t care to hear the inner workings of me then I suggest this is as far as you read. Well here goes:So for girls disciplship we are reading Jeanne Mayo’s book Uncensored, if you haven’t read it yet I strongly reccomend it! This is my second time around. There is so much truth jam packed in there, plus its so easy to read, you could fly through it without really digesting it all. Well this time around I had another revelation due to Chapter 8: R-rated dating advice from the scriptures. In this chapter Jeanne talks about how everyone desperately needs to feel like they belong to someone, the “Longing for Belonging”. Wait what? You mean I’m not the only one who feels like this? I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve cried out to God just asking for him to take that desire away. Life would be so much easier without it. But after all didn’t God make us in his image? Jeanne brings up a great point. Not only do we as humans have the desperate desire to belong, but so does our Creator. “Even the one and only God of the Universe ‘longs to belong’–to somebody, somewhere, sometime.” I read this over a couple of times before it hit me…that “somebody” that God longs to be with is me! It’s all of us. The God who created everything, who could have anything just by opening his mouth, longs for me??For everyone who says Christianity is illogical, I’m right there with ya on this one. That just doesn’t make sense, but either way, it’s still the truth. And I’m happy it is. But thats not the end of it. Since we were created in God’s image, we too have the “long to belong”. But ours is different. God’s heart longs for intimacy with people; whereas he created us to long for him. It’s that whole “God-shaped hole” theory. God created us with a void in our hearts that could be filled by Him and only Him. But so many times we (especially me!) get caught up in trying to fill that void with cheap imitations of God i.e. friends, relationships, drugs, whatever. We think that if we have the best friends or the best boyfriend/girlfriend it will fill that void and make us feel complete. But what happens when you “have it all” and you only feel more empty than when you began?Welcome to my life! Before becoming an intern in August, and entering into reality, I was your classic case of searching for fulfillment in ALL the wrong places. I would definitely have to say my biggest down fall was dating. I thought that once I found Mr. Right I would be completely satisfied. Well after several failed attempts over the course of 5 years, and multiple broken hearts later (and with a little help from the big guy upstairs and jeanne) I’ve come to the concrete realization that my relationship with Jesus Christ is the only place where I will find true stability, intimacy, and consistency that makes my heart feel safe, fulfilled, and whole. And until I get to a place where I am content with Him alone, my heart will always be restless no matter how amazing of a person I may be with.So all that to say, “I need to deeply and completely belong to Someone. So once again, Lord, I choose to make that someone You.”Ok now I’m sure you’re all wondering what these pictures are all about. Growing up in Florida one of my family’s favorite vacation spots was St. Augustine, Florida. So when I saw the author of the quote in my title it brought me back to those days. I remember visiting the Fort (the picture above) and having my dad stuff me and my sisters into old cannons while my mom watched in horror. I have pictures to prove it. Then we would move on to the old wooden school house, which would be the cause of many many nightmares. Inside the school house there were many animatronic students, one of which I’m certain was the devil himself (also pictured below). Aww I miss St. Augustine!So there it is. I guess you could say thats 2 blogs in 1!