I always took the saying that God is always with us with a grain of salt growing up. I thought of God as being some sort of an all knowing old man with a crystal ball or TV screen that shows what’s going on here on earth. I knew that he was watching and aware, but I didn’t so much believe that he was literally with me. I didn’t see how he could be with all of us all at once because I hadn’t considered the sheer magnitude of who God really is. He is an infinite God with no restrictions – he transcends all space, ability, and power to be everywhere all the time with each and every one of us. As I have grown in my faith, I’ve starting recognizing God in my everyday life and it has shown me without a shadow of a doubt that he is with me every step of the way.
Recognizing God in your everyday life is easy when you just open your eyes. I’ve found that he is always there, waiting for us to be ready for him to show himself. Even more than opening your eyes, recognizing God in your everyday life requires that you open your heart. There are so many little ways that he shows himself, and if you’re not a) being present in the moment and b) paying attention, you’ll miss out on them every time. Recognizing God in your everyday life requires mindfulness, and that mindfulness will not only improve your spiritual life, but so many other areas of your life as well.
Recognizing God’s Sense of Humor
In early April, my best friend and I got matching BFF tattoos behind our ears, right under our hairlines. Matching tattoos had been something that we had talked about since we were teenagers, and while I was excited to finally do it, I was nervous about having to have my hair shaved. As soon as the tattoo artist said that she would have to shave our hairlines a bit to place our tattoos, I freaked out. How much hair would she shave? Would it look goofy? If she was going to have to shave my hair, I was out! No way, no how I was EVER getting my hair shaved for ANY reason! I was pretty adamant. She ended up only having to shave a very small amount, so I got the tattoo anyway (and I love it). Flash forward less than 2 weeks, I find out I had a brain tumor and find myself on an operating table for a craniotomy to remove it from my right frontal lobe. And, you guessed it, the doctor had to shave some of my hair to make my incision. While my super thick hair hides it pretty well, I ended up having to get more of my hair shaved than I had to for the tattoo. God is funny that way. Tell him what you’re NEVER going to do, and he’ll show you otherwise.
Recognizing God Showing You that You’ve Come Full Circle
Just a few days before my brain tumor diagnosis, my husband and I spent a long weekend in the Bahamas. The getaway was just what we needed to celebrate the end of basketball season and have some romantic time alone before the hustle and bustle
of our hectic summer started. We had no idea during our trip that our life would be turned upside down once we got home, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Once we got home, life happened. I had my MRI, got my diagnosis, had surgery, and the rest is history. Exactly one month after I went under the knife for my craniotomy, I went back to the Bahamas with my mom and my best friend for a girls weekend that had been planned months before. While we originally planned to cancel the trip after my surgery, we decided to hold out in hopes that I would indeed heal fast enough to be able to travel, and I did. The trip was more healing for me than any medical regimen ever could have been. You see, I felt like going to the same place pre and post tumor, literally staying on the same resort and seeing the same views, but as a different person having been through so much in such a short amount of time, was God letting me know that that chapter of my life was behind me and I was in for a fresh start.
Recognizing God Letting You Know that You’re Right Where You’re Supposed to Be
I’ve been going to an amazing church here in Atlanta for the last 2 or so years, and it really feels like home to me. As much as I love going, life always seems to get in the way whenever I think about getting involved in a larger capacity. Either my husband’s basketball career takes us out of town, or, something totally crazy happens, and I get a brain tumor and have to have brain surgery. My recovery kept me out of church for a couple of weeks, but once I felt up to going, I was exited to get back. On the morning of my first Sunday back to church, I was listening to my faith playlist, filled with my favorite Christian songs. A song that I listen to often began to play, and post-surgery, it resonated with me in a way that it never had before. I immediately started praising God and felt that the rest of the world needed to hear the song to felt the thankfulness that I felt in that moment. I shared the song to my Instagram story and listened to it on repeat while I continued to get ready. To my surprise, that morning in church, the first song that the choir performed was the exact same song that had brought me to my knees just an hour before. Hearing that song on that particular in God’s house was enough to let me know that I was right where I was supposed to be and spurred me to action: I attended an orientation to join a small group the very same day.
While these moments may seem small to you, they have literally been everything to me, and there’s so many more where these come from. Now that I’m in a place where I’m open to what he is trying to tell me and paying attention, recognizing God in my everyday life is easy. If you’re anything like I was and find yourself feeling like God is watching you, but not with you, think again. He is there, and all you have to do is be present and attentive. He will do the rest.
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