True Love

I had planned to write a special post filled with mushy-gushy stuff for Valentine's day, and had even gone so far as to start on a post and save it as a draft. But, the events of yesterday morning changed that completely.

Yesterday morning, I was in a hurry to get to church. As I drove along the winding road, my car spun out of control. As the car careened into the gully on the side of the road, I felt an odd calm and peace. The silver saturn soon became stuck in the mud of the gully after bouncing down the slope, and the odd calm was soon replaced with the tremors and shakes of an adrenaline rush from such an ordeal. My first thought was that I was alive, my next thought was that even though I had been bouncing around in a car that was careening towards doom, I was miraculously unhurt. Trembling with energy from adrenaline I climbed up towards the road pondering my next move. Soon enough, a stranger had stopped and made a call to local wrecker service. As I waited, I marvelled at the fact that I was alive and unhurt. Now, a day later I still have felt no pain or soreness from my accident. I badly needed to be reminded of the fact that God is in control, and my wreck yesterday made the fact that life is short and uncertain quite clear. We make plans, we go through life day by day as if we have all the time in the world. Fact is, any second could be our last. I know God protected me from harm for a reason, it is amazing to me that after all the bumps, slides, and skids, I was not only alive but unhurt. Why? I don't know why. But I know that I have been given another oppurtunity. I am praying about some changes that I may need to make in my life. All I know is that God is great, and that after my accident and my miraculous escape that my life needs to honor Him. He is in control, I am not. He reigns, and in his infinite wisdom he has spared me from not just death, but also life-altering injuries. As I write this, I am humbled by God's greatness and my frailty. Funny thing is, I have been praying for God to do something to bring me back to Him and that he would remove the idols from my life. God answers prayer, sometimes in unexpected ways. Life is a gift, and it is uncertain. I have always claimed that life is good, but now more than ever I realize how precious it is. My car is wrecked, but I feel more alive than ever. I don't know where my journey is taking me, or if the road will be easy. But I know that God is in control and he has a purpose. And that is comforting. :) The best valentines day I have ever had was today, since God gave me the gift of another day to live here and glorify Him. He is to be praised, above all, for he is worthy above all other things.

Truly Blessed,
Matt
(Numbers 6:24-26)

A Muddy Monday Morning

I didn't want to get up this morning. At least not at 7:15 on a rainy, dreary morning to go to an 8 a.m. fitness class. Somehow I managed to get up and dressed for the long morning ahead of me. Books packed, hoodie zipped up, I opened the door with vain hopes that the rain had stopped. It had not, so I put on my hood and proceeded towards the gym for fitness testing. I managed to get to class in a mostly dry state as I pondered such deep things as where I was going to eat lunch. The fitness test was not to bad, and we were able to leave early, so I headed off to change for my 9 o' clock class. When I looked outside, I saw that the rain had changed to a mix of snow and rain leaving things in a muddy state. A glimmer of hope began to shine, maybe it would actually snow and classes would be cancelled.

Sure enough, at 10:00 I got a text saying campus was closing at 12. That small glimmer of hope soon burst into bliss over the fact that today would be a day free from classes and homework. I still had to go to my 11 o' clock world civilizations class, but I didn't mind since it meant getting to spend time walking in the snow as it fell. After class got out, I was free to eat lunch and then do whatever since my schedule was free. Upon returning to campus from a trip to wal-mart with some friends, my attention was immeadiately drawn to the snowball fight taking place in the quad. I could not resist the urge to join in, and soon I was running around the quad throwing snowballs, getting hit with snowballs, and slipping many times to the ground while attempting to do beastly things. The snowball fight lasted about an hour, and was followed by a fun game of apples to apples in the commons. Around 4 though, was the highlight of this amazing day.

On mondays at 4, a group of us get together to pray for each other and for the campus. Today's meeting was the first time we had met since December. To be honest, going into the prayer meeting I felt spiritually dry. I desperately needed God to show himself to me, I had been going through the motions for the past week or so without actually spending time with my wonderful Savior. My journey had become more of a sit back and relax, than a walk. In other words, I have been struggling with complacency. But the prayer group meeting? It did not take long for God to break down the door, tear off the ceiling, and rip the walls of that room away. As we shared together, God just kept reminding me of His awesomeness. It has been a long time since I have felt so rejuvanated by prayer, and I felt God's presence clearly for the first time in weeks. God overwhelmed my selfish pride, and reminded me that He loves me and wants a relationship with me so that He is glorified. Today is a great example of the fact that God takes what we see as crummy and make it beautiful. As I go on this journey called life, more and more I am amazed by God and what he has done for me, what he is doing for me, and what he will do for me.

As pretty as the snow is, I found myself drawn to another beauty today, the beauty of God's holiness. God rocks, prayer works, and worship matters.

Truly Blessed,

Matt

(Numbers 6:24-26)