Last week was my spring break. Originally I had planned to stay in Baltimore to catch up on sleep, work, and internship hunting. Instead, I visited four different cities in the span of one week! It was a bit chaotic, but God was able to teach me valuable lessons about having faith.

When I was in New York City, I could have faith that God reminds me about His love for me. Because I was there for my friend's bridal shower, which is a party that the bride has before she gets married, I was reminded that true love is only given to us by our God.

In Philadelphia, I could have faith that He provides friends, food, and shelter. I did not have to worry about spending money or driving too long without rest  because He provided friends for me who opened their homes to me so that I would find rest.

Then when I went to Panama City Beach, Florida, I could have faith that God would test me and give me struggles so that I would mature in my faith. When I was almost unable to get on the flight back to Baltimore, I had little faith that this trip was worth it. I went to PCB to share my faith with high school students and college students who were partying on the beach. I was going there for godly reasons, but I had such little faith that God would help me when I surrendered worldly things for greater purposes. He showed me that He was for me by having a broken plane, which caused a bunch of people to get off the plane and I could get on.

Finally, in Washington DC, I could have faith that God would show me that I am not perfect. Even though I had just had an amazing experience in the last three cities, I was still prone to sinning and becoming impatient with my family. I have faith that He is perfect, and I am sinful. It was a hard reminder.

We, as humans, often have little faith, but God is always faithful to us. Even when we can't understand or see how He is there for us, He loves to have a personal relationship with us, and He is always faithful in that  way.

Until next time,


 

Today is the first day of spring! What do you think of when you think of spring? Flowers? Butterflies? Sunshine?

Normally, spring is considered a time of renewal. For some people that means taking a day to do spring cleaning by cleaning the whole house. For other people, it means changing of the clothes from heavy jackets to shorts. Whatever it is, spring always brings about a new life.

I teach the children at the church in Baltimore, and one of the things that we have been going over is that Jesus give us new life. What does it mean for Jesus to give us  new life? Well just like Jesus gives flowers a new life during the spring as they go from a bud to a blossoming flower, Jesus does the same for us. He treats us as He treats the flowers. He takes us from a teeny tiny seed and blossoms us into beautiful flowers. He gives us a new life.

Here's another example: butterflies! We all know that butterflies start off as a caterpillar, which goes into a cocoon, and comes out as a beautiful butterfly. Jesus does the same thing to us. We are caterpillars. Our hearts and our attitudes are sometimes not so pretty. But Jesus chooses us to go into a cocoon so that He can transform us into a beautiful butterfly. That butterfly is beautiful because it reflects God's beauty. Sometimes being in the cocoon is difficult, painful, and hard, but it is all worth it in the end!

So as you enter into this spring season, look around you at all the things that change. Know that God is the ultimate change in our life. He gives us new life through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through Christ that we can transform from something not as pretty or significant to something beautiful!

Until next time,

Don't forget to wear green this Saturday! if you don't wear green, you might get pinched! Sound weird? Well it's St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day was originally celebrated by the Catholic Church commemorating the day when Christianity came to Ireland. Nowadays, the holiday has been watered down to wearing green and looking for four-leafed clovers. However, I think that we as Christians have something to learn from remembering this day.

Have you ever stopped to celebrate the day that Christ came into your life? Much like the Irish, we should always be remembering the day that He reached the shores of our heart! As a Christian, we should be thankful every  year, every day, and every moment that we are able to be a vessel for Christ here on earth. We should rejoice that He has come into our lives, sought a personal relationship with us, and continues to live on in through our thoughts and actions. We do this because He is the only thing that has ever existed that is worth being praised--not our accomplishments or the people we have become or how well we do our homework or how many friends we have. We only boast in God.  

Maybe you can find ways in your life to commemorate Christ revealing Himself to you. Is it to wear a cross necklace? Is it to be faithful to him in thought and in action? Is it through going to church? Is it by sharing about Him to a friend? Celebrate His life, living in you, so that His name can be made famous!

Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:31

Until next time,

About every two weeks, I have a quiz at the beginning of my statistics lecture. The quiz usually takes about 10 minutes. Normally I take a shuttle to school, which takes about 15-20 minutes. As I was leaving my apartment, I saw my shuttle driving past me! I realized that I had missed my shuttle by seconds, and the next one wasn't coming for another 9 minutes. It was already 10:15, so I would be late for my quiz if I waited for the next shuttle.

I had to think quick. What could I do? I decided that maybe I could drive to school, park in the garage, and just pay the $5 for parking. 

I walked to my car and realized that I was low on gas, but I had enough to get to school. Perfect! I drove to school and was going to be on time...until I reached the parking garage. It was FULL. I started to drive around and around to see if there was street parking...none! I decided to try another parking garage that was a bit farther away, but I couldn't find a single parking spot! Not only that but my gas tank was starting to run even lower. I exited out of the parking garage at 10:30AM, right when my quiz was supposed to start.

I wanted to give up. There was no use. There was no way I could find a place for my car in time. Even if I found a spot, there was no way that I could walk to my class before the quiz ended. There was no way that I would be able to make up my quiz. And there was no way that I could make an A after missing the quiz. Everything seemed so impossible.

I texted my friend about the situation, and he said that he would pray that I would find a spot and take my quiz. I decided, "OK I will trust God and try one more time. I will go around the block one time because I only have enough gas for one circle, and if I don't find a spot, I will just get gas and go home. God is more important than my statistics grade. Lord, I give everything up to you." 

Right as I turned the corner, I found a spot! It was the smallest spot, and I barely fit. I sprinted all the way to my lecture with my huge bookbag, and huffed and puffed to the front of the room with everyone watching me. My professor rushed over to give me the quiz, and I sat on the ground to take my quiz. 

I was so thankful and praised God. I praised God that He provided me with a friend who would pray for me even when I couldn't. I praised God that He opened up a parking spot for me to park in (it was also free, so I saved money!). I praised God that I had enough gas in my tank to find a spot. I praised God for legs to sprint to my class. I praised God that the quiz was still going, so that I could take my quiz. I praised God that my professor had grace to let me take the quiz even though I was late. I praised God for the stress that I had in the morning, so that when He provided for me, I would know that He is in control. 

Sometimes He answers our prayers in the way we want, and sometimes He doesn't. But in all things, God is there. He is our Provider, and He never leaves us.

Luke 1:37 "Nothing is impossible with God." 

Until next time,