Here's to a New Chapter in a Beautiful Love Story

          I suppose every writer has a pilot post, where they feel the need to justify the existence of their blog, or just to justify their existence in general. Never one to question the natural way of such things, I'll do my best to explain to you my reason for existing, and my reason for writing.
          My name is Danielle Eschedor, and as of December 4, 2013, I am 17 years old. That will be changing much too soon in March of 2014. I don't feel completely capable of assuming the responsibilities of a full-blown adult, so I am eternally grateful for the grace period of about 4 years called college that I will soon be entering. As for the geographic location of my endeavors in all-night study sessions and irreplaceable memories, I have so many options right now and I don't want to think about them today, so I won't. I'm sure I'll be writing about it once I make my decision, so just be patient, my friends. If I were to describe myself in one word, I would choose the word redeemed. I have been saved from the (questionably figurative) pits of hell by a God who is too immeasurably wonderful for my comprehension, yet loves me fiercely enough to send himself down to a broken and sinful world to be brutally murdered as a sacrifice in my place. Every Christian, and every person, for that matter, has a backstory. Most Christians call it their testimony. Non-Christians just call it their past. Either way, here's mine:

     I grew up in a typical Christian household; I was loved, I was gifted with academic abilities, but I was under a lot of internal pressure to achieve more and more. Without a strong personal relationship with Christ, the pressure broke me. Around the middle of my sophomore year, I started down the road to depression, anxiety, self-harm, as well as anorexic and bulimic tendencies. I turned to guys to try to make myself feel complete, but I was so empty. I thought I was in love with a wonderful, godly guy, and when we broke up, I hit rock bottom. I was determined to take my own life that night. I sat in front of my computer and cried about everything. I did not want to give my life up to the God my parents knew and loved. I wanted to do things my way, despite where my way had gotten me. In an angry whisper, I cried out to God and said, “If you’re really that great, then take it all. Take every part of me, because I’m done with my own life.”
     At that exact moment, I truly found God. This wasn’t the God that I had grown up knowing. This God was real, and this God was raw, and this God was powerful. The next week was the best week of my life. I was in constant communication with God, I was always opening my Bible and finding new things that God had to show me, and for the first time in my life, I felt complete. I reached out to a leader at my youth group and we’ve become great friends and prayer partners, and she's really wonderful about encouraging me and picking me up when I need to lift my eyes away from earthly troubles.
     I know that God let me go through the struggles that I’ve been through so that my story can be a testament to the healing power of Christ, and I get so excited when an opportunity arises to share my story.

          So now that you know where I've been, I'll tell you why I feel like I have some inalienable right to write: I don't. I want to write, not because I feel entitled to it, but because I feel like God has been speaking to me lately, telling me to chase this. To test the waters, see where it takes me. I've been getting a lot of really interesting questions of ideas popping into my head, and when I sit down to try to make sense of them, I find so much more than I expected. And what I've found -- what I'm still finding, I want to share it. What good is it to store up these treasures of truth in my heart? If I'm the only person benefiting from this, what good have I done to further the kingdom of God? So this is me; a young girl who found freedom, and wants to share it with others. I really hope this blog brings encouragement and smiles, and maybe just a few tears. 

"Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” -John 7:38

God, today I pray that You would use this blog as a source of life and of hope. That people from all walks of life would come and see that You are good. Speak Your will into my words, so that I may be but a vessel for You. Empty me of myself, and fill me with ever more of You. You are so, so good, God. 

Amen.