Sactown (part i): Boring?

Sacramento...what to say about this place.  On the outside, it does not seem like it has much going for this city.  High crime rates, not too much to do, bad pro sport team, in the middle of no where, suburbia galore...Many young adults would ride off this place as boring.  In a sense, they are right.  It's boring...

I lived in a nice suburb area in Sacramento growing up.  The Sacramento River flowed less than a mile away...nice bike/jogging trails, parks, etc.  But, there's no excitement.  Besides the State Fair, big events in town comes once a blue moon.  On top of that, being a kid in the suburb, there's practically no reason to go into town anyways.  Everything one needs to survive is within a 5 mile radius.  Back then, Sac didnt really have too much going on in downtown either...on a nice summer evening, downtown was empty by 6PM...almost ghost town status.  Nothing really put Sacramento on the map besides a big white granite building that houses the state's government and the Sacramento Kings back in the early 2000s.  It felt like the place lacked identity.  As a result, boring has long been ingrained into my mind.  Not to mention, there are some personal issues that prevented me from liking Sacramento in the first place.  

Until now...

By all means...Sacramento is not SF, LA, NYC, Chicago or Seattle.  Its not what many consider as a famous or giant city...where everything happens.  Its subtle.  The city has it's problems as I mentioned earlier, but if you look hard enough, it has its gems.  

About a year ago, I started attending Acacia, a young adult group out of a church in Davis, CA.  I remembered the first Sac small group meeting I went to in midtown Sacramento.  I completely did not realize there were so many hipster-esque restaurants that were built up in the area around L street.  The street was busy...full of people.  Within a few blocks there were a variety of places to eat and hang out...and if you know me...I love to eat and hang out.  It was a far cry from what I grew up seeing, empty government buildings after 6PM.  A few months later, we began a small period of time where we started trying out restaurants all over the city.  

Another thing that I like to do is outdoor activities.  I went on my first legit mountain biking trail...also in Sacramento.  It was so much fun!  I got to try out a demo bike and felt the rush of adrenaline going through these trails.  Then tried out river rafting, kayaking and paddle boarding.  I picked up cycling...and love my usual rides down the American River Trail.  There were so many outdoor activities in the area, I dont know how in the world did I ever think Sacramento was a boring place.

In addition, I realized Sacramento has a lot of history and art.  Railroad Museum, Crocker Art Museum, Old Sacramento, 2nd Saturday Art Walk, Sutter Fort, Historic Folsom, etc.  Sacramento used to be the biggest railroad hub in the west coast.  It was also a central location during the gold rush where people traded in their gold.  Knowing so much about the impact of Sacramento in California and US history, helps me realize how amazing this city was back in the day.  As for art...I love art, but I don't know the slightest thing about it.  But, to explore galleries during 2nd Saturday Art Walks and Crocker Art museum really makes one appreciate the different artistic styles and movements in the area.

To make Sacramento even better, its central to everything...2 hours to the beach and 2 hours to the mountains.  As a person who loves the ocean and loves to snowboard...it's pretty nice.

Sure...Sac does not have giant music artists that comes into town every week, nor does it have a strong professional sports team that is always in playoff or going to championship games, but to call it boring...and nothing to do is quite a bit extreme.  I can think of so many more cities that are more boring.  I can go on and on regarding how much there is to do in Sac...but I think there is one important point with all this that I want to leave you with.  Activities are fun and interesting when people with common interest enjoy those things together.  You can be in the most exciting city in the world...but if you can't find someone who has a similar interest to enjoy the excitement with, that city would just be as boring.  Id say, find people that has similar interests and do those amazing activities together.

Anyways...even with all these awesome things to do...Sac is far from being ideal...as I will try to explain in the next Sactown part...For one...It still lacks identity.  

Spoiled Brat

I had a sudden conviction today in the morning.  I woke up being anxious, flustered, annoyed, and just plain overwhelmed due to a few personal circumstances.  Woke up on the wrong side of the bed you can say.  But as I woke up with these feelings, I quickly began to pray knowing what's bothering me can destroy the entire day.  As I began to run my errands, a thought came in my head, "You are such a spoiled brat."

When there is something wrong in my life, I pout and cry to God; if something that even remotely bothers me, I cry out to God; if I want something, I cry out to God; if I am greatly in pain I cry out to God...But when it comes down to serving God, there is always a condition.  It is as if I bargain with God to get out of my duties.  If things go well in my life, I praise God for all the great things that goes on an move on with my life.  Completely spoiled brat status.

My brattiness has been causing most of my anxiety and frustration.  When I want something to happen in my life very badly, I end up saying to myself, "I have to do (fill in the blank)."  A master plan is formulated as if my own master plan can fulfill my deep desires.  The reason why I pray/cry to God is in hopes that my plan would work and get what I want.  Because I put so much faith in what I want and my desires, anxiety is formed...knowing that God does not have to grant what I want and wish for.

This conviction has shown how broken and selfish I am.  An issue I do not know how to fix.  It is something that has hindered my faith and trust in the one and only True God.  I neglect the fact that I am his...that I am "not [my] own, [I was] bought at a price.  Therefore [I should] honor God with [my] body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Ok...Im quoting this verse out of context a bit.  But it is true...If I am made for God, I should be honoring Him...not try to use God to fulfill my own agenda and whine to God when I dont get what I want.

Lord Jesus!  Forgive me for my lack of faith.  I pray that I would not be anxious, and not be a spoiled brat, but rather trust that whatever happens, going with my plans and desires or not, that You know what is best for me.  You know it better than I know myself.  I cannot change with purely my own will power...but only the Holy Spirit can change this hardened heart of mine.  Let your Spirit be present now and heal this wicked part of my heart.  I am Yours.