The Lord is always at work in our lives, although most of the time we don’t stop to realize it. These past two weeks, however, even His tiniest of blessings have been evident to me. I’m writing this because God deserves more credit than He’s given, and I think my noticing His work lately was His intention. God’s goodness is to be shared!

This pattern began on Nov. 28 - my birthday. College professors very rarely cancel classes, so when all three of my classes were cancelled on my birthday, I practically fell to my knees in thankful prayer. The odds of this occurrence are slim to none, but the Lord insisted that I have a good birthday. It was not only one of the best birthdays I’ve had in awhile, but one of the best days in general.

Another thing I’ve noticed is His grace. God is good and loving even though we deserve the opposite, and this was shown especially true to me this week. It’s easy to give Him glory when it comes to the obvious things. When we screw up big time and receive forgiveness, there’s a better chance of us thanking Him. But the little things? Not so much. He blesses us more than we care to realize.

This week, my teammates and I had to individually meet with our coaches for player evaluations to discuss how we’ve been doing and set goals for the upcoming season. Going into this meeting, I was a bit fearful. I’m typically very hard on myself, so I felt I deserved to hear them say I need to do much better. That I’ve been slacking and I should be working harder as a lacrosse player and a teammate - but they didn’t. My coaches made me feel great inside, and once the meeting ended, all I could do was thank God for rewarding me so much more than I deserve. Even if my coaches truly believe I’ve been great this semester, I know I could be so much better, but that evaluation meeting was God saying to me, “Relax, you’ve done well, and I have taken care of you.”

Ephesians 4:2 tells us to bear one another in love, emphasizing the importance of relationships in our lives. The love and appreciation I feel for my friends and family lately is extraordinary. God has blessed me with such incredible parents, grandparents, siblings, nephews, friends, teammates etc. and I should thank Him for this more often than I do. We all have unique things in our lives to be grateful for, and relationships is a significant one for me. Having people in your life who love you unconditionally may just be the very best feeling (aside from knowing you’re loved by the King of the Universe).

Just so we’re clear, God is doing a whole lot for me than I will ever realize, but it’s important to share His good works wherever we see it. Keep in mind that He works in mysterious ways, so even if you don’t see or feel Him right now, He is still there. If you’re experiencing pain and stress and confusion, do not fear. He uses those things too.

During this lovely holiday season, let’s keep our hearts more open to his goodness. In noticing His blessings, you’ll begin to feel more content while also bringing Him glory, which is exactly what He wants for us.