Take 1: Memories and 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years'

Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrringgggggggggggggggg!

Laura: Hello?

Ryan Terry: Hey Laura, it’s Ryan Terry. I have a question and some news for you about the CCCU Tuition Wavier spot.

Laura (excitedly nervous): Yeah, ok. What is it?

Ryan Terry: Well, can you tell me for sure that you’d like to come to JBU if you could, that JBU is your number one choice?

Laura: I think so. God has made it incredibly clear the last few weeks that He doesn’t want me to go to the other school on the top of my list. So yes, I can say with confidence that I would love to come to JBU.

Ryan Terry: That’s awesome. You’re in then! I will have a letter in the mail to you soon…….

That day I got off the phone more assured of God’s provision and power than I had been in a long time. You see, I had been worried sick over waiting to find out about this scholarship spot at 3 different schools, including JBU. At one point I was driving myself and my family crazy by checking the mail, my email, and the answering machine seemingly every waking moment. The supposed notification dates had passed by and I heard nothing. Absolutely nothing. No good news. No bad news. Nothing.

It took Mom and I sitting down and realizing that neither of us had been trusting God with this matter. By worrying we had done absolutely nothing other than make ourselves nearly sick. I had to choose to release it all to God, to put it into His hands, to let go! Only after I allowed God to take my worry off my hands did I begin to hear from the colleges; first disappointing news, then the call from JBU.

You may ask, why this moment? It was then that GOD showed himself powerful. My prayers were answered, my worries absolved and my future clear(er). That doesn’t mean more struggles weren’t on the way. But I was beginning to learn how to wait, trust, and rest in him.

Questions:

Perspective. Angle. Focus.....

I had a hard time coming up with an “exciting scene” from my life, and I am sure other students did, too. Why is it that when I look at my life I sometimes think of it as boring and mundane, while I see others’ lives as exciting and ever-changing? Can changing our perspective (or camera angle) give us a different view of our effectiveness as people, as well as seeing God’s work in our lives in a new light? How do we do that?