Guest Blogger: Hayley Morgan :)

This past week was mine and Hayley's third time to the Dominican Republic. Each trip has been unique in it's own way and each one has taught us something that we will carry with us. Here is what spoke to Hayley over the past week:

What is love?  According to Dictionary.com, love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person, usually a child, family member or friend.  But what is REAL love?  The kind of love God wants us to have with one another?  In the Bible it says to “Love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest commandment.  And the second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22: 37-39).  So to truly love a person with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, you must FIRST love God.  True love is not possible on this earth without the love of Jesus.  Without God, love is earthly, temporary and insincere.  Earthly love is a set up for failure.  Adultery, premarital pregnancies and divorces are all results of earthly love.  God’s love is heavenly and perfect because God is love.  Heavenly love is ever-lasting and unstoppable.  “Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.  Love never fails.” (1 Cor. 13:7-8).  This is TRUE love.  Jesus lives in the heart of every Christian, so we can all love like Jesus! 

I used to think that loving like Jesus was impossible, but this past week in the Dominican Republic I have learned there are many different ways to love people;  holding a child, saying ‘HOLA!’  to a stranger, praying for someone in pain, smiling at an old cross man and understanding that every person you meet is fighting a battle to be the best they can be. (When you meet someone you must understand that you are only seeing part of them and you may never know what is going on in their heart or what they have been through in their life.)  Loving someone the way God wants you to love them is seeing the good in a person, no matter how bad they may seem.  God created every person in his image, but a lot of the time these people get lost and lose their righteousness.  Seeing the good in every person and putting them before yourself is how you can show love like Jesus.  But the hardest part about loving everybody is loving the people who have wronged you.   It’s easy to hate a person that once made fun of you for being chubby or hate a girlfriend that dumped you harshly, but it takes true character to forgive and love those who hurt you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?  But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:32-36).

God has put us on this earth to serve Him and spread His love.  We can do this by simply giving an encouraging smile to the apprehensive woman passing us on the sidewalk.  Love isn’t supposed to be a forced and complicated thing, loving others should be as natural as breathing.  My favorite song, Just Because by Scott Phillips, sums it up perfectly; “I can search the world and find all kinds of love, but love that is real is love just because.”

Graduation post.

The past day of crazy traveling chaos has left us sitting at the Pittsburgh airport for about 5 hours. After a crazy weekend of graduating, working, and packing this is the first time I have had time to let the fact that I am a high school graduate actually sink in. Despite the time I have had to think about this it is something that I still don’t think my mind can really comprehend.

I feel like I have spent the past four years of my life just waiting to get out of high school and now that it’s time to leave I don’t want to go. I graduated on Friday and while everyone was excited and cheering I was still very unsure about how I felt about the whole thing. High school has taught me a lot of different things that have prepared me for the next chapter of my life, but there is something that has had an immense impact on my life.

All my life I always felt like everyone was always leaving me. Some moved away, some moved on and some went to be with the Lord. Through all of this I used to always get angry and upset and question why people were always leaving me or why relationships had to come to an end. It was not until the end of this year that I had a better understanding of all this. With the help of a friend I was able to acknowledge the fact that sometimes God only puts people in your life for a season, and once they have served their purpose and our need is met we must understand that their work is done and it is time for them to move on. Many times these people are sent into your life in order to guide you, teach you and help you through a time of difficulty and usually they bring you great joy. That joy is a real feeling, but it is only for a season.

I believe that is why I was so scared to leave high school, because for the past four years God has put some incredible people in my life and I know for a fact that I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for those people. I know I will eventually lose touch with teachers who have meant the most to me and friends who have imprinted my heart. And even friends who I would continue to stay in contact with I know that we would have a different relationship after we went our separate ways. Despite how depressing I am making this sound I also realize that it is because of the people that have shaped my life, who I am and my future.

So I just wanted to take a moment and thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being a part of these past four years of my life and I cannot wait to share the next chapter with you as well. I’ve learned that whether or not a person is in your life for a season or a lifetime, your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

(P.S. Keep me, my sister Caylyn and my good friends Hayley and Alyssa in your prayers as we travel to the Dominican Republic this week!)