Unexpected Blessings

I was thinking about this earlier today. All of the "bad things" that have happened in my life. All the things that I regret, that I prayed for and never received, that went terribly wrong. But as I was thinking about all of the horrors of my life, I realized that blessings have come from each of them.

A familiar verse popped into my mind as I considered these things and had my epiphany. Romans 8:28 says  "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." I hadn't really thought about applying it to my life before today.

The first thing I thought about was the obvious. Diabetes. How could that possibly be a good thing in my life? How could this tragic, life-altering disease help me? But I already knew the answer. This disease has made me a more responsible person from as early as I can remember. It has helped me to have compassion for others, especially the "Under dogs" or those who are different and don't fit in. It has brought me to many people that I would have been likely to avoid without this compassion and understanding. I love these people with all of my heart, and I thank God for them everyday. Because of diabetes, I was homeschooled for all but about a year prior to college. That gave me an education that put Christ at the center of everything, more time to worship and serve my Lord and time to be influenced by my family. Therefore, God gave me diabetes so that I could come to Him! I'll always pray for a cure, but I'll never detest this God-given gift that is my disease.

The second thing that came to mind was relationships, especially friendships, that have failed miserably in my life. It was in His plan for these people to let me down, and some of the reasons are being revealed to me. Members of my family and most of the people that I've put my trust in have rejected me. That had destroyed my self-worth and peace of mind. I actually prayed that God would terminate some of these relationships, but He had other plans. He has healed the friendships that He wants me to have, and restored the relationships with family members. Moreover, He has healed me of any hard-feelings and hurt caused by them. The pain that these people brought me lead me closer to God and my immediate family. Later, my pain turned to peace as I realized that everyone will fail me. There is not a person in this world that will not let me down at some point. God, however, will be eternally faithful to me. He will never hurt me. Everyone gets rejected, but God heals the broken-hearted and He definitely works all things together for good to those that love Him.

Another thing Satan threw at me was my failures. The devil constantly makes me ponder over the things that I have utterly failed at in my life. He tries to destroy my confidence and make me permanently unhappy. I can't say without lying that this tactic hasn't worked before. I'm not perfect by any means. I'm no where close to perfect. Perfection is Jesus Christ, and no one matches Him in that aspect. I've done things I am not proud of, and Satan reminds me of that every chance he gets. But I have to remember that God is using those things to further His Kingdom through me. I can't dwell on my mistakes, because God has already forgiven me of them. I am "called according to His purpose." He created me, and He doesn't make mistakes. My regrets, failures, mistakes, everything that is bad about me, He can use for His glory.

God quickly reminded me tonight that I am His, and everything I do is in His plan. I don't  have to worry about things that I have done, things that I can't do or things that go wrong. I just have to trust in His perfect plan, and have peace in knowing that all things work together for good to those that love Him. I have to remember that I am called according to His purpose, and He isn't finished with me yet. Next time I start dwelling on the unexpected things in my life that I think are curses, I will remember that they are unexpected blessings from the One who planned my life before the world began.

A Note of Thanksgiving for My Mentors

Throughout my life I have had many people to teach me different things. All together, these people have taught me how to be myself. They have given me traits such as respect, humility, mercy, loyalty and kindness. I would like to take a few moments to thank these people for their time and influence, because without them I would be totally different.

My parents are one of the biggest influences I'll ever have. If I had to select only two people that have helped me find myself, it would be them.

My mother is absolutely amazing. She has grace and compassion, things I have adopted by way of  respect for her. I want to be like her and I hope to adopt her beautiful personality as I grow. She has taught me how to keep the peace, how to set an example and how to worship God. I watch her everyday as she puts others before herself, especially her family. I witness her witness as she leads people in my community. I'm exposed to her gentleness in dealing with everyone, patience is definitely hard to come by! If I ever have a problem, I know I can trust her with it. She is loyal to me always, and not many people are. She gives me the best advice because she knows me best. Specifically dealing with Diabetes, my mother at first took care of me completely. She taught me later on how to be responsible with it so that I can take care of myself. I am so grateful for her and all she does for me. If it weren't for her and some other people, I wouldn't be alive today.

I owe my work ethic, respectfulness and blunt honesty to my father. He has instilled in me these things by his example, and I will be forever grateful. He and my Mother have taught me to work hard for everything, and it has paid off so far. He has always done whatever he had to in order to provide for his family. He has taught me to respect others, even if I don't believe they deserve it. He has always spoken honestly, rather than simply telling people what they want to hear. Because of that example, I speak the same way and I hate being lied to. I am also less graceful than my mother with my words sometimes. She has a way of always saying something kindly, and I have adopted Dad's straight-to-the-point style of speaking. I adore my father, and I'm so blessed to have him in my life.

Another person that deserves credit for who I am (and who I want to be) is my little sister. I would do anything for her, just to make her happy. God has blessed me with her in more ways than I can even retell here. She has given me a forever friendship that many people never have the privilege to experience. She saves my life daily, by supporting, encouraging and sometimes correcting me. She has taught me to always be brave, especially when you're in trouble. She's taught me compassion and loyalty because of how she deals with me. I know that I can always count on her to have my back and that alone is a blessing. I can't imagine my life without her, and I thank God that she was in His plan for me.

My best friends have influenced my personality as well. They have taught me how to be loyal to people outside of family, how to be a tolerent Christian and how to share my witness. I don't have many people that I can trust, so having loyal friends is a blessing. It has made me want to be loyal so that I never hurt people the way I've been hurt. The people that always have my back are very precious to me, and I would never want to hurt them. They have helped me to have tolerance for the people around me, especially Emily and my little sister, Autumn. When I know that there are people that agree with me on things, it somehow makes it easier to ignore the people who challenge me (especially about my faith). These few people have also been a great witness to me, which in turn helps me to be a better witness. My best friend has taught me about forgiveness, both towards others and towards myself. He has saved me in more ways than one. I imagine my life would be very different without him.

I have had teachers and coaches that have shown me responsibility, creativity, and other things. A certain mentor once told me something I repeat often for comfort: "Give it up (to God), and let it go." That has gotten me through many stressful times. One of my mentors brought out the actor in me and showed me how much I loved performing. My public speaking teacher let me realize how much I enjoy speaking to crowds, which in a way has helped me to be myself more. I once had a supervisor that taught me how to be kind and gentle, even when people do not deserve it.

All of these people have shaped my world, my life and my personality. They have taught me about myself and the person I want to be. They have truly been a blessing to me, and I am thankful for every one of them.

An Introductory Message

 My name is Taylor Ryerse. I am an 18 year-old college student, also enduring a life sentence in a prison known as Type 1 Diabetes. I love my God, my family, my friends, my school and my church. I currently take full-time classes at the local community college, and I will graduate from my homeschool high school in December.

I have no real idea what I want to do with my life beyond writing. I have always enjoyed writing of all kinds. Essays, poems, short stories and even some books. I recently discovered I have a passion for public speaking as well, but I doubt I will speak in front of large crowds for my entire career. My main goal for a career is to be a published author, so for now I'm focusing on "perfecting" my writing.

Because I don't know what to do with my career, I'm completely lost as for what to major in with college. I don't think an English degree will help me any, and communications probably won't either. I would like to learn about holistic medicine, but that's my only good idea so far. That or a general degree in arts.

This blog will follow my story as I find myself. I will eventually discover who I am, what I'm good at and what I want to do with my life. This blog will show the little things that go into that process. The stories that make up my life and career. Please, enjoy reading them and pray for me as I continue on this journey!