Learning to live again...

One of the best things about new life with Jesus is that He teaches you a whole new way of living, you see things in a different way and it's like your entire perspective on life has been changed.
In the years when we were in the world, we were told lies, we conformed to the ways of the world simply because we knew no other way, in our own strength, we could not defeat self, the world says: "I want it, so I'm going to have it", "I feel like it, so I'll do it", "What about me?"
It's always somewhere around the arena of self but then when we give ourselves to God and walk in His light, we realise that HIS ways bring freedom. You are freed from self, from satan, from sin and from sorrow, you walk in a freedom that is at times to wonderful to grasp, it's way beyond anything the world could have given us.
This is something God has been teaching me a lot recently, at first, (and I'm ashamed to say this) I thought that God's ways were crippling, that I would lose all the things that I loved and that my life would be empty but more and more, I understand that His ways, walking with Him brings freedom, it brings peace, it brings joy and satisfaction. He will never leave us empty.
God is constantly teaching me how to talk right, that everythign I say will bring a smile to someone's face, remind them they are loved, He's teaching me to act like Him, I see with His eyes now, not with the flesh, I'm learning that I was created for a higher purpose than just myself, I live for Him and I live for others.
Now when I say "live for others", I don't mean that I am a people pleaser, I show God's love to others, and I know that as I bless others, He will bless me, I aim to be His hands and His feet in this world.
God is teaching me to find beauty in everything (even in the ugly things!). He teaches me to appreciate the simplest things in life and I sense His hand in everything I do and everything I see around me.
He teaches me to know when to speak and when to just shut up! We never seem to be able to do that right, He teaches me when to focus on issues and when to dismiss them, He teaches me to love like He does, never focusing on the bad in people (cuz truth is, if that's what He had done with me, I would be burning in hell right now!).
We need to say, "Teach me Lord to live and love like You, make me more and more like You, and help me to find myself in You".
We need to be willing to let God correct us, to direct us, to guide us, to save us on a daily basis, we need to learn to live again...