Your memoir: Everyday wonders

At a Christmas party several years ago, a new acquaintance asked what I did with my time.

I told her I teach memoir classes based on Bible verses telling us to remember what God has done for us and to tell our kids and grandkids.

She got a far-away look in her eye and, after a moment, said, “I think I saw God do something once.” She paused. “Yes, I think I did.”

I wanted to grab her arm and say, “Once?! You saw God do something once? Lady, God does things for us all the time, every day!” but, by His grace, I found a quieter, gentler way to explain my perspective: God is always with us, always active in our lives.

Sometimes we don’t realize God plays a role in everyday events, but He does.

God is always with us. He plans for us, enjoys us, and delights to have a loving relationship with us.

He created each of us for Himself and for His unique purposes.

"You are not an accident.

Your birth was no mistake or mishap,

and your life was no fluke of nature.

Your parents may not have planned you,

but God did....

Long before you were conceived by your parents,

you were conceived in the mind of God.

He thought of you first.

It is not fate, nor chance, nor luck, nor coincidence

that you are breathing this very moment.

You are alive because  God wanted to create you!"

(Rick Warren)

If you doubt that, look at David’s words in Psalm 139:13-16 (NCV).

You [God] made my whole being.

You formed me in my mother’s body.

I praise you because you made me

in an amazing and wonderful way.…

You saw my bones being formed

as I took shape in my mother’s body.

When I was put together there,

you saw my body as it was formed.

All the days planned for me were written in your book

before I was one day old.

If you haven’t let that settle into every cell of your being, take a while to do so. The reality behind those words is life-changing!

David also wrote these words about God’s constant involvement in our lives:

Lord, you have examined me.

You know all about me.

You know when I sit down and when I get up.

You know my thoughts before I think them.

You know where I go and where I lie down.

You know well everything I do.

Lord, even before I say a word,

you already know what I am going to say.

You are all around me—in front and in back.

You have put your hand on me.…

Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?

Where can I run from you?

If I go up to the skies, you are there.

If I lie down where the dead are, you are there.

If I rise with the sun in the east,

and settle in the west beyond the sea,

even there you would guide me.

With your right hand you would hold me.

(Psalm 139:1-10, NCV)

Perhaps you identify with the woman I met—maybe you’ve noticed only the big stuff, God’s power in the “visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events.”

If so, this week take time to search for and discover the everyday ways God has always been involved in your life—

• the college He led you to,
• the teacher that inspired your choice of college majors,
• the employment God provided,   
• the neighbor who smiled when you were new in town,
• your doctor’s wisdom,
• the person who became your best friend,
• a baby’s hug,
• an honest car mechanic,
• tomatoes in your garden,
• Bible studies,
• a stranger’s comment that opened up new possibilities,
• and so many more!

God created each of us for His unique purposes.

He plans for us, enjoys us,

and delights to have a loving relationship with us.

God is always with us, always working in us,

always working on our behalf.

Write your stories!