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PROGRAM D-7738
What a difference a year makes! I’m surveying the year that is quickly passing—2016—to make sure I don’t miss the big picture of what God has been doing in my life over these past twelve months. It’s a really good opportunity for all of us who are Christ-followers to slow down and make sure we recognize and appreciate how our lives have been guided by the Lord.
What changes did you encounter in 2016? We know that change—whether positive or negative—produces stress, and stress affects us physically, emotionally and spiritually. This past year was full of changes for me. I went from single to married, and that is about as big as change gets. Then my husband and I moved to a new home, and that brought lots of change. In the midst of navigating all those changes, through my church we have opened a residential home for sexually trafficked women, and that is currently under my leadership, and so my ministry duties have increased and changed dramatically.
You know, when your life is full of positive changes, you may think it’s not really stressful. I mean, how exciting can it be to get married? Who wouldn’t want to be a part of the team that helps women find healing through Jesus from terrible trauma? How special is it to just witness the miracles that have made this new outreach possible? It’s amazing, but once again, the trees in the forest can become so overwhelming that you miss the big picture.
So, I have to regularly stop and remind myself of how blessed I am to have a godly man at my side, encouraging and helping me. And I have to regularly remember that the daily minutia and obstacles and delays we have encountered as we get our home ready for this new outreach are not what I should focus on. Instead, I have to remember that this is God’s work, not mine, and I am so very privileged just to have a little part in it. When I can stop and see the big picture, and remember what it’s all about, then I can cope with the stress that comes with the changes.
How about you? Have you lost sight of the big picture that God is working in your life? Have the changes of 2016 so overwhelmed you that you’re missing the blessings that come with the change? If so, why don’t you just take a few minutes—maybe even right now, but sometime before this year ends—and make a list of all the blessings that God has given you in 2016. Look at everything from God’s perspective, with Forever Eyes, thank God for what he has done for you and through you in 2016.