That would be where I have been recently. Sure, life has been great. It's even seemed easy most days. But that's only because I put off all the stressful stuff until the last minute, which not only builds the stress but also makes the last minute even more stressful than it should be. My schedule is so crammed full of busyness that I get excited when I find even an hour of free time (which unfortunately doesn't seem to stay free for very long). This girl who doesn't seem to understand how to say "no" has finally learned what it means to have to.
It's in these crazy stressful times that I am reminded how much God really cares. It's in the crazy busy times when even singing worship songs and reading my Bible doesn't seem to focus my thoughts on Him that I am reminded I'm still on His mind.
For example, I'm going to review the way my week started out. Monday involved an 8 a.m. class, a tour of the local newspaper building at 11, class at 1 p.m., class at 3, attempting to get an interview at 4, prayer meeting at 5, dinner at 6:15, city council meeting at 7 (not at all by choice), actually getting an interview at 10, trying to get a stupid program to work that never did, and finally going to bed at 1 a.m. Tuesday's agenda included meeting for a group project at 9 a.m., class at 9:30, lunch meeting at 11:15, class at 12:30 p.m., class at 2, meeting at 4:30, worship service at 7, again attempting the video editing program, studying for a test I had early this morning, and again going to bed at 1 a.m. Not a lot of time to spend remembering how awesome God is right?
Well, God made sure He still reminded me. For starters, he gave me about fifteen minutes of relaxation in the midst of all my journalism assignments Monday night, because He gave me an amazing friend who will bring me a patty melt whenever I ask as long as she's awake. Tuesday, when I woke up, I had a headache and a dry throat. Almost as soon as I started singing a worship song ("Never Let Go" by Matt Redman), He healed me (which somehow took me about fifteen minutes to realize). On top of the whole not feeling well, I was also really tired from going to bed so late and because of it seriously considered asking a friend to pray for me so I could make it through the day. I decided to not overwork my phone texting a friend to ask, but three hours later, the same friend I had thought about asking sent me this text:
"Well I'm glad you're not stressed out about it. God I pray that You just continue to help Nicole keep the stress away and just take things a little at a time. God I pray You allow her sometime even if it's just walking to class to just spend talking to you and getting refilled. I praise you for the wonderful woman you have made Nicole and for how you are ever increasing the masterpiece that she is. Yay Jesus. Amen :) love you girly :)"Even though I was already having a decent day by that point, that text made my day. God had sent me a little present - in the form of a text message - to say He was thinking about me. Even though I hadn't said anything to anybody about wanting or needing prayer, someone prayed for me. I was so overwhelmed thinking about His goodness that all I wanted to do was cry.
He didn't have to do anything big. Sure, He does big things sometimes, but He's normally behind the small stuff - the stuff that seems insignificant but really makes a big difference, the everyday things. For me, this week, it was drive-by patty melt service and a text message. For you, it could be hearing your favorite song on the radio. It could be a hug or a smile from someone important to you.
Look for God in the little things. He likes to give us those - small packages that change our world. After all, His first gift to us was only a baby. And that gift changed the entire course of history.
