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?

Shining Perspective

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. ~Genesis 1:1

What comes to mind when you read this verse?

My son is learning this verse at preschool.  The children in his class learn a new bible verse each month.  I thought to myself: “this is an appropriate verse for the beginning of the school year.”  I didn’t give it another thought.

I noticed this verse staring at me this morning.  It was among a pile of papers on the counter.  I believe I absorbed the impact of its power for the first time.  It’s quite possible that this verse in the beginning of the bible is overlooked.  It is not a verse that one generally refers to as a life verse or a promise.  But the word of God is living and active.  This morning I was overwhelmed by the power in this verse.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

This verse alone should inspire awe. One day God just said, “I’m going to create the heavens and the earth.”  Really?  On my very best possible day, I couldn’t dream up the earth, let alone create it and the heavens too!  Wow!   That is power.  I began to take in the amazing creation that is our earth; the perfect balance that exists because God made it that way.  God perfectly crafted each tiny detail of it.

Why is it so easy to overlook the beginning?  When I begin something new it is exciting.  But it doesn’t take long before I am racing to the finish. We seem to be in such a hurry to get to the end.  No matter where we are in life, we struggle to get somewhere other than where we are.  I propose it is pure selfishness.  God blesses us with the beginning of his amazing plan, his plan for this season of our lives and we just want to get through it. We just endure it.  But God has a purpose for each season.  God’s purpose is the reason that we don’t get to just jump into something and then poof, it’s done.  God wants to build patience, character, perseverance and test our loyalty.  God wants to prepare us for something amazing. If only we would be willing to let him.

I am extremely impatient, especially with myself.  I propose that it’s time to slow down a little.  Take a look at the beginning.  The beginning is God. No matter what it is you are trying to accomplish in your life, look to the beginning.  You may discover how far you’ve come.  Or you may be shown that you have gotten off track from where you once began.  When you take time to look at the beginning, you will see that your focus shouldn’t be the task at hand, but the hand of God guiding your steps; that is what you truly seek.

If you are at the beginning of something, live in that moment.  Embrace it.  God fashioned every tiny detail in your life and planned each set of circumstances that lead you to this exact moment in time.  Today I am at the beginning; the beginning of this season in my life.  I am at the beginning of this semester; the first semester of my college career.  I am going to live here, in this moment and not focus on the end.  I do not know what tomorrow will bring.  I can’t see where this season will take me.  But I will choose today to trust in the Lord for his plan is perfect.

Perhaps you are at the beginning too.  At the beginning of something awkward and new, at the beginning of something and you don’t know what to do.  Maybe you are in the middle, and your circumstances are bleak, or each day feels mundane.  Wherever you are, if you will take a look at the beginning, you will find your focus, your purpose, at the beginning of it all, you will find God.