Eyes on Him

I was having quiet time with God last Thursday morning and I felt like he was telling me - "Grace, look to me." Some days, I have more time to write out my prayers, but this day was short. If I look in back at my journal, it simply says in vibrant orange "Grace, look to me". As I wrote those four words that morning, I had no idea how busy it was going to get from then on. In the morning I wrote it as a declaration that these were the words God was speaking to me and I had no idea how timely these words were. After I came home Thursday, I was so tired that I ended up taking a nap (which I rarely do). Then the realization of all the due dates of all these assignments and exams started hitting me. Then I got really stressed Friday and Saturday thinking about all these things.

But then I was reminded of the last sermon from the "Tuned In" Series by Pastor Stephen Chandler. The part that convicted me the most was the point "stay humble". He gave a football analogy (not sure if I understood fully, but I'll do my best to explain it, haha). God is the quarterback and he gives you all the plays in the game that allows you to score, and win. It's not you doing all the work, but God. After years of playing, what if you come to God and say "God, I think I'm good. I can do it on my own." What's going to happen? You can try with all your might, but without God, you're going to lose. Not only is God not going to not be on your team, he's going to be in the opposing team. So the point of the analogy was that we need to stay humble. 

I look back to my freshman and sophomore year and I honestly don't know how I got through some of the classes and even did well in them. But I know it was God who brought me through then and i know it is God who will bring me through. I love what I do - teaching the youth group, teaching the media team, learning biology, taking pictures, etc. but altogether, it easily gets overwhelming. But I will get through this semester and the semesters after this the way I have gotten through them in the past - in spending time in God's words and in prayer. As the year began, I resolved to do my best to study the Word of God as a priority instead of something I do just in my free time (because who really has free time in college?). It's definitely been a struggle! Every Wednesday the thought that crosses my mind is - "to go or not to go to Bible study" but I believe that spending time in God's words and in fellowship with people in various parts of their Christian walk - it will not be in vain.

Yesterday I went to a talk by the University of Maryland at Baltimore Medical School admissions office, and it was really interesting to hear from the admission's point of view what characteristics a doctor needs. They look for the applicant to have maturity, patience, empathy, adaptability, and motivation. He told us that medical school is not a sprint, but a marathon. But I realized that life in general, is not a sprint, but a marathon. I can only see what right in front of me for now, but I will do my best to persevere and to be faithful to what God has given me now.

Also, this is a three part thing I made. It's from 2 Timothy 4:7. I hope to be able to declare this one day! I'm also giving a YDJ presentation on how Jacob is the shadow of Jesus this Friday. If you could pray for me, I would greatly appreciate it. :)