Blessed.

Sometimes I forget how blessed I am...and then there weekends like this one where I am reminded again.

This weekend was not monumental by any means, nor did anything significant happen, but looking back on it, it feels good.  I have been studying biochemistry all weekend for my final tomorrow; biochemistry has been a humbling experience, which I needed, so I have been putting a lot of time and effort into this exam.  But, I have taken a few breaks from all the chemistry to calm down and relax.  So, let me tell you how the Lord has shown me how blessed I am in a few opportunities from this weekend...

1)  My parents.   If I'm going to be honest, I am stressed out frequently - almost to the point where I need it to function.  But, this semester has found me in the most stressed out I have been.  I am committed to a lot of things, but I want/feel called to do them all - so there is a tension there.  In the end, it boils down to me needing to be a little less self-sufficient and a lot more dependent on God, relying on the strength He provides.  The Lord has also provided me with some great parents, who are always there when I need them.  I can't tell you how many times I have called them in moments of stress and fatigue and doubt, but they have this way of calming me down.  They listen when I cry and encourage me all the time.  They aren't perfect, but they are mine and I need them.  And this weekend, I needed them.

2)  Sunday school.  I know I say this frequently, but I love kids.  They are so amazing - especially the kids that I have in my Sunday school class.  I don't know if I can fully express to you what joy I find in teaching Sunday school.  They are creative, imaginative, loving, and care-free.  But most importantly, they inspire me to gain a new appreciation for what God can do; to us, the Bible can become redundant and story-like.  But, these kids recognize that God is amazing, that the God of the Bible, who did great things and performed miracles, is the same God today.  Our God is amazing, how can we not worship Him? 

3)  My friends.  When I was reading The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis this summer, his description of friendship struck me:  "Christ, who said to the disciples "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, " can truly say to every group of Christian friends "You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another."  The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out.  It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others.  They are, like all beauties, derived from Him, and then, in a good Friendship, increased by Him through the Friendship itself, so that it is His instrument for creating as well as for revealing.  Let us not reckon without our Host."  I serve an incredible God, who has blessed me with incredible friends.

I know that I cannot do all things by my own strength or might.  Sometimes, that lesson is hard for me to learn, but full dependence on God is where I need to rest.  I know that I have been loved without condition and blessed beyond comprehension.  Praise Him!

[I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.  For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! -Psalm 57:9-11]