Looking Back....

I was spending some time talking with God about things filling my heart right now in this season of life and He reminded me of my college exit interview. Nothing formal, just the idea of a creative person at my school (Sterling College). He asked us about why we came to SC and what our goals where when we entered in comparison to where we were then at graduation. I went back to look at the interview and was so encouraged about how our God never changes and He is so faithful! So, here is the interview article by Ed Lowry:

Who God Wants Her to Be

"I was independent. I came to college secure in who I was because I grew up fast in high school, but I was still searching for something. I came to college looking at it as a journey and an adventure. I was determined to find who I was in this world and who God wanted me to be in relationship to what was in my heart. I really wanted to be informed by Him and follow His lead."

Melissa Sylvester is a woman of strength, poise and character. She possesses a firm desire to work with children and to help them be the people God would have them be.

"I have a strong passion for children to believe in who they are and become their own person. And women, I have a strong passion that they know whom they are and are comfortable knowing whom God has created them to be."

Melissa knows whom she is in Christ and what she wants to do with her life.

"I want to be a wife and a mother. I have always had a desire to do that. Having a 'career' has never really appealed to me that much. Being a mom and wife is a full-time job. Being a parent you can learn so much from your children while you teach them as well. I think it is the most significant thing you can do."

Melissa experieced two important events that prepared her to meet her goals and showed her God's plan for her life. The first was deciding on a major.

"I came to college going into Music Therapy for autistic children. Then I left to go to photography school in Santa Barbara. I came back to Sterling and struggled for a semester. God was simply saying to do what I loved. I had never thought of that, so I ended up with a Bachelors in Art and a minor in music."

God showed Melissa how that could be incorporated into her goals and dreams of being a wife and a mother. The next significant step was the revelation that one life-long goal was going to happen sooner than she expected.

"The other moment was realizing that Wesley was the one God has intended for me to marry. I never would have thought I would be married out of college. I had lots of plans and was going to Italy for art school. Things were not really working out and I couldn't understand. God was very real and revealing to me at that time."

In both events she really did find more peace in knowing who she was and who God wants her to be, just as she had hoped.

"The most significant thing I've learned in college is to follow God's will, He will lead. Even if you don't always understand it. It is beautiful when it comes.

I look back at this interview and marvel at how God works in our lives. That interview took place about 10 years ago! I praise Him for giving me that peaceable sense of security in knowing I am His child. I am grateful that His will is best for me and I can trust it. Looking back at how God has been faithful in our lives helps us to remember that He will continue to do so.

How has God been good to you? What time in your life can you stop and look back at to see His merciful hand at work on your behalf? Stop today and take some time to say "Thank you God for being oh so faithful to me."