Shining Perspective

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”~Matthew 19:26

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. How quickly I can forget the miracles that God has richly blessed me with. Recently I have experienced so much of God’s grace. The precious gift of God’s grace is truly a miracle that is so easily taken for granted. His hand has guided my every step and even when I had nothing to put forth, God filled up the space with His amazing grace.

I have come to the end of my first challenging semester in college. I think going back to school after taking 15 years off is a struggle in itself. Taking two classes and a lab, working full time, being a wife, a mother and having all of the commitments that go along with those rolls is well, crazy to say the least. Of course, I didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t do it. I know now it was not the wisest choice to take two classes. I could have just taken one class. However, I would have missed an opportunity to watch Romans 8:28 in action. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I watched God make all things work together for my good. I would have missed out on the immense grace that overflowed throughout every difficult day that I put one foot in front of the other. Psalm 34:8 says “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” I saw, felt, tasted and tested God’s promise for myself. By trusting God I was touched by him in a way I never would have been, if I had not made the decisions I did. Some people might say I just took a leap of faith.

How is it so easy to forget? How can you possibly forget in such a short amount of time?  Circumstances come and knock you around and before you know it they are in the spotlight and somehow you have lost sight of the miraculous events that you have been privileged to taste. I witnessed the Lord’s hand upon all that I had been doing for months. I watched in awe as I would pass a test I had no business passing. I felt His overwhelming presence as I sat through the exam. I knew every time I received a test back, the Lord gave me that grade. There is no way possible that I could accomplish what I have. Only by the grace of God could I successfully have made it through this semester.

I still forgot. I let circumstances such as, being sick, the stress of preparing for Christmas (yes, Christmas, you know the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, the Prince of Peace) and the everyday chaos of this world blind me from the miraculous grace I had experienced. I let the circumstances that arose, change my view.

I have been miserable because I have been focusing on my circumstances and allowing them to dictate all my choices, my mood, my life. Today, I went online to see what books I needed to order for next semester. Once I was there, I was distracted; or shall I say God had something for me to see. I ran across my grades for the semester. That is when I was reminded how amazing God has been to me and how grateful I am for what I had just experienced. My joy is in full bloom as I count the blessings of the lessons I have learned. My hope is renewed as I relive the moments where God held my hand and once again did not fail me. My faith has grown as I have seen firsthand that God makes all things work together for my good, even when I make poor decisions.

What miracles has God done in your life? Are you counting them? Or are you letting them get lost in your circumstances? God is faithful and there is nothing too hard for him. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Mark 9:23 What do you believe? Have you tasted and seen for yourself how great the love of God is?