Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

Romans 12:12

I find this short voice so meaningful. Romans 12:12 was actually the verse of the day on the Bible app and I wanted to expand on it a little. I think the hardest thing for me in this verse is "patient in affliction". The dictionary refers to affliction as: Something that causes pain or suffering. 

I struggle with being patient in affliction because one of the biggest contributors to my pain at the moment is myself. I'm at a constant battle between wanting to look, feel, and live better but I'm held back with excuses. Excuses such as, "I'm so tired" "I can do it tomorrow" "Skipping a day won't hurt..." but skipping a day obviously adds up and no progress is being made. If you really want something you have to work hard on it and not expect results overnight. I need patience. I need courage. I need prayer. I need strength! 

There's so much going on in the world right now and it wasn't until recently where I really sat down to digest everything. I've honestly grown up in such a safe bubble that I wasn't concerned about what was happening around me. There is so much travesty and fear everywhere and there are real life struggles that people face just to get through the day. I'm very fortunate to have had the life I live and my problems are so small compared to what others go through. I pray to be understanding and for opportunities to come my way to make a difference no matter how small it is. I'm doing more and more research and reading more to gain more insight of different cases, different upbringings, lifestyles, struggles, and more. We were always told in church to go out to be a blessing to others and I feel like people are so scared to reach out to people because of rejection. But sometimes people are just looking for someone who cares and who is willing to help with what they have. In my social justice class I learned about how the media has created the "culture of fear" and the "mean-world syndrome" where the media has painted and instilled a certain imagine of a persons race to have a negative connotation. This creates fear towards people based on their appearances and what the media tells you they are. But we have to remember these are the people who need love the most. People who need prayer and help and we shouldn't be fearful of them. 

My parents have always been very overprotective over me. I guess it's because I'm an only child. They always want me to be with someone if I'm walking alone or if I'm going to get food in a neighborhood they feel is dangerous. I understand their fear and it's nice to know they care about my safety, but I also know there are different organizations I can look into and participate to help make a small change in someones life. I'm sorry, I'm going off on a tangent. I'm really tired and I'm losing my train of thought LOL! I'm just going to end it here. I'm sorry for a lame post haha D: