Blessings in Disguise
School has officially started as of Tuesday, August 19th, 2014. Since then, a lot of things have happened this week that I did not see coming. As I looked over my syllabus during the first day of classes, I couldn't help but be taken aback by how fast-paced and time-oriented this culture is. Back in the Middle East, the culture was not very time-oriented at all. People would show up to events thirty, sixty, and even ninety minutes late and it wouldn't be a big deal. I look over my planner and I already feel like I'm drowning with all the assignments and expectations my syllabi has for me.
Aside from syllabi shock and all those good stuff, I realized that I have been experiencing a certain degree of culture shock as well. A lot of things happened this week that were undesirable and unexpected, so it has not been an easy week for me. Job situations, financial situations, and a whole lot of other things simply jumped out at me and I felt like I don't have a control over my life anymore. Yet amidst of life's chaos, there was one good thing that I have learned.
God was teaching me how to rest and fully trust in Him. So far the sermons I've heard were about trusting Him completely with every area of my life, including the ones that I mentioned above. Yes, financial problems and job situations are unsettling. Yes, trials produce tears, and tears lead to questioning of how good God is. But one thing Matt Proctor, Ozark Christian College's president, said in the first chapel sermon of the year hit close to home. He said, "If you can't trace His hand, trust His heart." As I was listening to him speak in chapel that day, I can't help but agree to what he was saying about God mysteriously working through pain and frustration. In addition to that, I am also going through a book called Devotional Classics, which compiles a series of sermons and thoughts from spiritual giants such as C. S. Lewis, Martin Luther, St. Augustine, and Henri Nouwen. This quote below is but one of the many statements that has stuck with me since this harsh week:
"Therefore you should confidently expect from God one of two things: either that your prayer is granted, or, that if it is not granted, the granting of it would not be good for you."
Such powerful words.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting the start of my junior year in college to be so challenging, but I know God has a plan. As cheesy and cliché that sounds, it's true. Right now I'm at a point where I'm starting to look for these blessings in disguise, because as Matt Proctor said in his sermon on Tuesday,
"God is photobombing your life." Likewise, as the poor kids in the picture don't know they were being photobombed while the picture was being taken, so I may not know as of now what tomorrow brings.
But I don't care to know what tomorrow holds, for I know Who holds tomorrow. :)
Aside from syllabi shock and all those good stuff, I realized that I have been experiencing a certain degree of culture shock as well. A lot of things happened this week that were undesirable and unexpected, so it has not been an easy week for me. Job situations, financial situations, and a whole lot of other things simply jumped out at me and I felt like I don't have a control over my life anymore. Yet amidst of life's chaos, there was one good thing that I have learned.
God was teaching me how to rest and fully trust in Him. So far the sermons I've heard were about trusting Him completely with every area of my life, including the ones that I mentioned above. Yes, financial problems and job situations are unsettling. Yes, trials produce tears, and tears lead to questioning of how good God is. But one thing Matt Proctor, Ozark Christian College's president, said in the first chapel sermon of the year hit close to home. He said, "If you can't trace His hand, trust His heart." As I was listening to him speak in chapel that day, I can't help but agree to what he was saying about God mysteriously working through pain and frustration. In addition to that, I am also going through a book called Devotional Classics, which compiles a series of sermons and thoughts from spiritual giants such as C. S. Lewis, Martin Luther, St. Augustine, and Henri Nouwen. This quote below is but one of the many statements that has stuck with me since this harsh week:
"Therefore you should confidently expect from God one of two things: either that your prayer is granted, or, that if it is not granted, the granting of it would not be good for you."
Such powerful words.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting the start of my junior year in college to be so challenging, but I know God has a plan. As cheesy and cliché that sounds, it's true. Right now I'm at a point where I'm starting to look for these blessings in disguise, because as Matt Proctor said in his sermon on Tuesday,
"God is photobombing your life." Likewise, as the poor kids in the picture don't know they were being photobombed while the picture was being taken, so I may not know as of now what tomorrow brings.
But I don't care to know what tomorrow holds, for I know Who holds tomorrow. :)
Renata Palit,
August 21, 2014
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