12.22.18~The People Who Have Impacted Me Most...
There is an extremely long list of people who have impacted me. In one way or another, big or small, good or bad, everyone I know has impacted me. But there are a few people who have impacted me in very large ways and have differences in my life and growth, that I will never forget.
The first person who has impacted me really big, is my mom. Both of my parents have impacted me largely, obviously, but my mom has impacted me in a way more as my friend in this situation. So, many of you know that my mom has had a lot of health issues over the past eight to ten years, and has had to go through a lot of surgeries. Watching my mom go through those has been super cruddy, but it has impacted me and made me a stronger young lady than I probably would've been. It's simply just the joy that my mom finds in being healthy, (even if it isn't super healthy), has taught me to find joy and peace in situations that I would've been upset with or concerned in. Being with here through all of her health problems has also taught me to be extremely grateful, even on the bad days. She is smiling and being happy even when she feels super yucky, but she is grateful and walking in gratitude, because she doesn't have cancer, or as she puts it, "able to be fixed." She has taught me more lessons and character and helped me grow in my faith so much over the past three years. Her going through these things and being joyful, graceful, and peaceful in those situations has taught me more than anyone else or school ever could. So mom, I know you're reading this...THANK YOU FROM THE VERY BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
The next person that has had a huge impact on my life and growth, is my old youth pastor and family friend, Kevin. Kevin was my youth pastor my seventh and eighth grade year. He was one who taught me and our group how to handle life when things got tough, and how to know God so that we could share the gospel well. He loved our youth group so much and just the way he taught us how to live and the effort he put into our lives made such a big impact on me. From the crazy games we played to the lessons on how to live our lives for Christ, it just changed me. So Kevin, if you happen to be reading this...THANK YOU SO MUCH! You have helped make me the Christ follower I am today.
The third person who has had a large impact on my life was my seventh and eighth grade history teacher, Coach Daft. He taught me world history and U.S. history, both of which I passed because his teaching alone was impactful. He cared about each student individually and making sure that they were thriving in his class and that they all had opportunity to succeed. That alone made him a great teacher, but he was also a great mentor. During my seventh and eighth grade years, I battled a lot of insecurities and bullying and Coach Daft cared enough to make sure that it did not go on in his class, whatsoever. He made sure that I had someone to talk to during school hours about what was going on. So every day I went into his classroom and just kind of vented about the things people would say or do that made my days hard. The one thing that he always made it a point to tell me was, "You are loved. You are valued. No emotions or other people's opinions change that." I will never forget that. He drilled those facts into my brain. He was there and willing to help me when I was in a deep dark pit and that forever changed my life. So Coach Daft, if you're reading this...THANK YOU. I might not be here without you.
The last person that I am going to tell you about in this blog post is my friend Paul Chyka. Some of you might know Paul, but he changed my life through the smallest thing. It was July 11, 2017. I was at the summer camp that I go to, and it was after the worship service that night. The Lord had been working in my heart the night before and I knew that I needed to talk to one of our leaders, but was terrified and blew it off until that night. So, another leader had suggested I talk to Paul, because he had experience with my situation. I sat down with Paul, and his wife Chloe, and just told them everything that had been going on and what I was dealing with. (Those of you that don't know my story, I had been battling a self harm problem. I might do a post on my testimony soon. Not sure.) Paul looked at me after I told him what I was battling and told me his half of what God had done for him, in his situation. He then asked me if I was ready to surrender my self harm addiction to Jesus. I told him that I definitely was because it had caused so much hurt for me physically and emotionally and for people around me. So Paul and Chloe were the two people who prayed with me and helped me walk in freedom out of depression and self harm. So that will have forever changed my life. Paul, Chloe, if you're reading this...THANK YOU for showing me how to walk in freedom with Jesus.
These are by no stretch the only people that have impacted my life in big ways. There are countless people who have changed me into who I am today. I hope you all enjoyed this post and maybe learning more about me. Love you guys!
love always,
Iz💛💛
The first person who has impacted me really big, is my mom. Both of my parents have impacted me largely, obviously, but my mom has impacted me in a way more as my friend in this situation. So, many of you know that my mom has had a lot of health issues over the past eight to ten years, and has had to go through a lot of surgeries. Watching my mom go through those has been super cruddy, but it has impacted me and made me a stronger young lady than I probably would've been. It's simply just the joy that my mom finds in being healthy, (even if it isn't super healthy), has taught me to find joy and peace in situations that I would've been upset with or concerned in. Being with here through all of her health problems has also taught me to be extremely grateful, even on the bad days. She is smiling and being happy even when she feels super yucky, but she is grateful and walking in gratitude, because she doesn't have cancer, or as she puts it, "able to be fixed." She has taught me more lessons and character and helped me grow in my faith so much over the past three years. Her going through these things and being joyful, graceful, and peaceful in those situations has taught me more than anyone else or school ever could. So mom, I know you're reading this...THANK YOU FROM THE VERY BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
The next person that has had a huge impact on my life and growth, is my old youth pastor and family friend, Kevin. Kevin was my youth pastor my seventh and eighth grade year. He was one who taught me and our group how to handle life when things got tough, and how to know God so that we could share the gospel well. He loved our youth group so much and just the way he taught us how to live and the effort he put into our lives made such a big impact on me. From the crazy games we played to the lessons on how to live our lives for Christ, it just changed me. So Kevin, if you happen to be reading this...THANK YOU SO MUCH! You have helped make me the Christ follower I am today.
The third person who has had a large impact on my life was my seventh and eighth grade history teacher, Coach Daft. He taught me world history and U.S. history, both of which I passed because his teaching alone was impactful. He cared about each student individually and making sure that they were thriving in his class and that they all had opportunity to succeed. That alone made him a great teacher, but he was also a great mentor. During my seventh and eighth grade years, I battled a lot of insecurities and bullying and Coach Daft cared enough to make sure that it did not go on in his class, whatsoever. He made sure that I had someone to talk to during school hours about what was going on. So every day I went into his classroom and just kind of vented about the things people would say or do that made my days hard. The one thing that he always made it a point to tell me was, "You are loved. You are valued. No emotions or other people's opinions change that." I will never forget that. He drilled those facts into my brain. He was there and willing to help me when I was in a deep dark pit and that forever changed my life. So Coach Daft, if you're reading this...THANK YOU. I might not be here without you.
The last person that I am going to tell you about in this blog post is my friend Paul Chyka. Some of you might know Paul, but he changed my life through the smallest thing. It was July 11, 2017. I was at the summer camp that I go to, and it was after the worship service that night. The Lord had been working in my heart the night before and I knew that I needed to talk to one of our leaders, but was terrified and blew it off until that night. So, another leader had suggested I talk to Paul, because he had experience with my situation. I sat down with Paul, and his wife Chloe, and just told them everything that had been going on and what I was dealing with. (Those of you that don't know my story, I had been battling a self harm problem. I might do a post on my testimony soon. Not sure.) Paul looked at me after I told him what I was battling and told me his half of what God had done for him, in his situation. He then asked me if I was ready to surrender my self harm addiction to Jesus. I told him that I definitely was because it had caused so much hurt for me physically and emotionally and for people around me. So Paul and Chloe were the two people who prayed with me and helped me walk in freedom out of depression and self harm. So that will have forever changed my life. Paul, Chloe, if you're reading this...THANK YOU for showing me how to walk in freedom with Jesus.
These are by no stretch the only people that have impacted my life in big ways. There are countless people who have changed me into who I am today. I hope you all enjoyed this post and maybe learning more about me. Love you guys!
love always,
Iz💛💛
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