Unexpected Blessings

Do you ever do something that you completely dread and really do not want to do, but after you do it, you realize that it was actually for the better? I know that is a bit of a vague question. Tonight, I experienced an unexpected reality.
So often, we all get so caught up in what we are doing that we have no time to realize how much we have all changed, matured, or grown. Since so many things happen gradually, we just cannot see for ourselves what has changed. It is kind of like growing taller or growing out your hair, the people immediately around you everyday do not quite realize the difference, but someone you have not seen for a long time recognizes it right away.
Without going into details, tonight I got to see first hand a few things. First how great God’s grace has been in my college life? Second, because of God’s grace, how different I am from my first semester freshman year to now. Ultimately, the biggest factor I am slowly understanding is how unbelievable Jesus’ gift was on the cross. Is there a better example of complete love and forgiveness for those who run away from him?
To challenge each of you, I ask you to think back to who you were a few years ago. Maybe this means looking back into a journal, asking a friend what they thought of you, or simply sitting down and reflecting. What has changed in your life? What is different? Are you happy and satisfied with what you have become? Is their disappointment or regret? While it is inevitable for everything you think of to be good or positive, make sure to give yourself grace. And lastly, no matter what you have been or have become, the incredible love of God that offered his Son, as atonement for our sin, is never unreachable. The beauty in all of this iswhat Jesus said, “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12).