The Envelopes are in...I just gotta tell somebody, God is SOOOOOO Good!

Every morning I've decided that as a part of enhancing my spiritual life, I would spend time in prayer and doing a devotional, reading from various forms of uplifting texts and messages about God to start off my day. For my last birthday, my big sister gave me a 4 1/2 X 3 1/4 inch blue and black pocket sized marble notebook. In the section where we would usually put our names and class subjects for school, she indicated that this book should be used for prayer requests and gratitude.

This morning, I woke up at about 8:20 am, my second go at getting up for the day (I tried around 7:30 when I got Lawrence's daily "Good Morning" text, but definitely fell back asleep). Committed to getting a lot of work done today, I peeled myself up and got ready for my morning ritual. Today's reading was from the Bible, Luke:1. As I'm reading the text, two lines stand out to me: Luke 1:13 - "But the angel said to him: 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard" and Luke 1:37, "For nothing is impossible with God". At the completion of my reading, I went to my pocket-size prayer and inspiration keeper prepared to include these two verses as reminders of the message. I happened to open the book to the last page where I included a prayer to God. This prayer spoke to the anxiety I was feeling regarding the Qualifying Exams scores that we hadn't received yet and the mounds of things on my to-do list that overwhelmed me. My last lines in that prayer were "I put it all before You, Lord".

I guess the Creator knew that the next thing I would write in this book would encourage me to see that I have a testimony, answered prayers.

Last week, I got the email I'd been dreading. The administrative assistant to our department chair sent out notices that our grades were in for the Quals, and could be picked up. My heart skipped a few. I plotted my avoidance. I promptly emailed and let her know that I wouldn't be on campus during the day when they intended to deliver the news, and requested an alternative date, later in the week of course. When Thursday came, I waited to the last possible minute to knock on the door. I knew on the other side was THE ENVELOPE.

After a long day of class, I finally went for it. I built up the courage to knock and go inside. At this point I'm ready...but unfortunately, the person I needed to see wasn't. After all of that, I would have to return the next day. Another night of trembling, I thought.

The next day, I attended a workshop on campus. For nearly three hours, I sat in the same room with the person who would deliver the news about my exams. I kept taking side glances at her, thinking that the whole time, while I was in the darkness, she knew what that envelope said. She knew where I stood, and yet, she responded not at all to my internal dialogue and piercing glances. She simply focused on the presentation. I forced myself to do the same.

Three hours later, I finally had my meeting. In my hand, as I sat to get feedback, I had a envelope that read "Congratulations. We are pleased to inform you that you have successfully passed all areas of the Qualifying Examination Questions". I breathed a sigh of relief that released a three-month deep inhale (I'd been waiting for this day since August when I handed the exams in).

Above receiving this letter, and being extremely happy and grateful, this morning's message truly brought this experience full circle. "Do not be afraid, [Zuleka], your prayer has been heard"..."For nothing is impossible with God".

I immediately understood.

God, I give thanks. I publicly share my treasured experience with you, and will not be ashamed or afraid to tell the world from whom my blessings continue to pour. I will pray without ceasing, not just in a stance of request, but also from a posture of gratitude that You are consistently the type of God that You are.

There's much more to come on this journey, and I'm certain many more days of mixed emotions and hard times. I guess, I have to remember not to see the road through my eyes, but through faith in God for whom NOTHING is impossible.

#sooooooooograteful