Yesterday during our prayer time the girls
and I went around the room and told each other different areas of our life
where God has shown up leading us to where we are today. Then I came across a
blog my roommate from my senior year of college wrote called “Looking
Back…” and it’s inspired me to write one as well.
There are sometimes when I honestly forget
how much the Lord has shown up in my life. There are times when I forget how
truly broken I was and of the times when I cried out to God for help. The Lord
provided for me and I want to take a minute to look back on that.
My senior year I had every intension on
going to Kennesaw State University along with some of my friends that were
going there. I honestly didn’t care where I went to school but for later
reasons I ended up at Georgia Southern.
My freshman year of college I started
drinking. I was in the dorms one night and cops came in while my friends were
drinking and we all got breathalyzed. I was the only one that blew a 0.0 but I
was drinking that night too…? If I would have blown above that, I would
have been on probation both with the cops and at school.
I started dating a guy this year and
through him I met a girl who got me plugged in with First Baptist Church. Even
though we didn’t work out, I slowly put one foot back into the church. If I
wouldn’t have dated that guy, I wouldn’t have made connections at that church.
I went to the Dominican Republic my
sophomore year. This was the year I was crying to the Lord for a way out of the
life I had been pulled into. On this trip is where I met my roommate for my
junior and my head started to slowly come out of the water as I connected more
with this church. If I wouldn’t have gone on that trip, I would honestly
either be dead or in jail at the rate I was at. (not trying to exaggerate
on that)
I went again my Junior year and God broke
my heart for missions. Even though I didn’t know it at the time but Candyn (who
was also on the trip) was my future roommate. If I wouldn’t have gone on
that trip again, I wouldn’t have realized my strong passion for mission.
Since the beginning of February I had been
praying for roommates that would push me toward the Lord. I had a few offers
but they fell through whether because of them transferring or fights we got
into, either way it didn’t work. My friend Chase and I went to lunch one day
and he told me that his sister Aubree was looking for a roommate. Aubree and I
had 3 classes together that semester so we already knew each other. I knew
after I talked to her that this is where the Lord wanted me to be. Had I not
gone to lunch that day, I wouldn’t have ended up at 519 with Aubree, Candyn,
and Linsday!
My senior year I was on a flag football
team with a girl I knew from the BCM. Even though I didn’t know the other girls
they opened up to me right away. This is where I met my friend Becca who I went
to Passion 2011 with. Had I not joined that team, I wouldn’t have had a
vision from the Lord that turned my life around.
The summer before my Senior year I lived
with my best friend Jessica and her friend Kristina. Kristina was majoring in
General Studies, something that I had only heard of but never looked into.
After hearing more about it, I changed my major to General Studies. Had I
not changed my major I would not be on the race because I wouldn’t have
finished my double major until December 2012!
I could seriously sit here and talk
forever about how good God is. I could talk forever about how even in my mess
did God continued to pursue me and have His hand in it all. God’s timing is
absolutely perfect. There are days when I still forget because I still get
angry, I’m still impatient, and I still mess up. But God’s grace and perfect
timing has brought me to where I’m today, sitting in a coffee shop in Chiang
Mai, Thailand, thanking Him for His grace on my life.
I want to encourage you to do the same
today. Take a few minutes and LOOK BACK and see the way God has transformed
you. It’s worth it!
