Joyfullyblessed … And rejoicing today!

Have you ever found yourself staring at a situation in life wondering how you’d ever get through it?  The mountain is just too big to climb.  The burden is too much to bear.  The weight is just too heavy.  It is just IMPOSSIBLE to overcome.

Now, have you ever gotten through one of those situations and looked back on it.  Have you ever stood at the top of that mountain, realizing that somehow you actually have overcome?

4 years ago I was a college freshmen, not even a month into the crazy college experience.  I enjoyed life with my new friends and was excited about the adventures that lay ahead. 

4 years ago today, I was also involved in a car accident that changed a lot of things in life.  The naivety of youth … of thinking “it’ll never happen to me,” was stripped away as my friend and I were pulled from a twisted piece of metal with the Jaws of Life, surprising some that we made it out alive. 

At times .  I wondered when the images of the collision would stop playing on repeat in my mind, but eventually they did.   Then, I wondered if a day would pass that I wouldn’t think of the accident and it’s impact on my life…. and the life of my friend… yet that day, and many more since, came.  But SURELY I would NEVER ride, let alone drive, in car again without thinking of that horrible day, right?  Wrong. Most days now it doesn’t even cross my mind.

So, I stop today and remember that day, September 21, 2006… but not with the same confusing emotions that surrounded that event and the time that followed…  no, I remember it today and rejoice!

I rejoice in the fact that I’m still alive.

I rejoice that broken friendships have been healed.

I rejoice in an overcoming Savior that helps me overcome.

As I think about this, and the many things we face which seem “IMPOSSIBLE” to overcome, I’m reminded of a verse from one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 77.  The first part of the Psalm basically outlines how it seems as if God just isn’t listening and there’s no way out of the situation.  Then, suddenly the Psalmist switches focus…

¹⁰ Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
       the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

¹¹ I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
       yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

¹² I will meditate on all your works
       and consider all your mighty deeds.

¹³ Your ways, O God, are holy.
       What god is so great as our God?

Even in the midst of things that seem “impossible” to overcome it often, it helps to look back and realize where we’ve seen God already at work… in His Word and in our own lives.  As we meditate on His works and consider His mighty deeds, it gives us hope to continue on and climb the mountain in front of us.

Truly, the days and months that followed my accident 4 years ago, were difficult.  Yet, I stand here today and can truly REJOICE in the faithfulness of our God … and overcoming Savior who leads us through life… but the joys and the challenges!

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!