It’s so easy to get into a routine and make the ordinary everyday life into a pattern that you can’t seem to shake. While structure is extremely important, and having a schedule and being organized are great tools to have, life can get really boring sometimes. It’s so easy to forget to see the beauty in the everyday life.

And, we tend to forget that we have an amazing God who created us and this amazing place where we thrive.

I am the type of person that absolutely enjoys structure and making the most of the time that I have. However, as life begins to pick up and get kind of hectic, I sometimes begin to lose sight of what I truly need to focus on and maintain throughout my life. I begin to make the routine my main goal and I try to hit as many checkpoints as I can, making lists and checking things off of them.

Although this is a great tool to keep me organized, on-task, and focused, sometimes this causes me to forget the reason that we are all here-- to do all things for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes I just need a little reminder, and God knows exactly what to do.

As I was riding my bike across campus this evening to attend a speaker session for one of my classes, I looked up and noticed the sunset. At first, the sunset seemed pretty normal to me. However, as I continued to look at it I saw just how beautiful it was. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun was just below the horizon. The sky was covered in many shades of purple, orange, red, and blue. It didn’t have any amazing mountains to sneak behind or a valley to descend into, but it was still one of the most breathtaking sunsets that I have ever seen.

Everything was quiet and there wasn’t anyone around. It felt like the world just stopped to take a breath. I couldn’t help but stand in awe for a couple minutes and be amazed by my God who created everything that I could see.

The same God that sent his only son down to sacrifice himself for all of our sins. The same God that answers our prayers before we even have the words to speak them. The same God that continues to pursue a personal relationship in the midst of all of our sin and flaws.

The most incredible thing about all of this is that God has chosen us to be the ones that receive his grace.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” -Ephesians 1:7 (NIV)

No matter what happens in our lives and what decisions we make, our God will pursue us and love us in the most fulfilling and beautiful way that we can imagine.