Stop and Smell the Roses

Lately, I have been feeling a bit unsettled.  Living here in Miami has had its ups and downs but this unsettled feeling didn't seem to be connected to the transition pains of moving to this new city.  It seemed that God, through the Holy Spirit was nudging me to simply spend some time recognizing what he had done in my life and in this ministry I am apart of.   I could hear his quiet, gentle voice saying, "Austin, stop and smell the roses." 

        I have a tendency to set my mind to something and just go for it.  Pretty much if I going to do anything I have to do it all out.  I'm an all or nothing guy.  For instance, if I'm going to write a blog I have to put all my effort and thought into it.  I can't just write half-heartedly about something going on in my life and usually this equates to long blogs as you may have noticed.    Unfortunately, this mentality finds its way into all parts of my life including my ministry.  
       Despite my, at times, cursed mentality to go all out, God has been teaching me the great value of stopping to smell the roses.  Usually, I forget to enjoy the ride and only focus on the end result.  What this looks like in my ministry is that everyday I go to campus I strive to work hard for God and to try and make a difference in students' lives and hearts.  The reality is though that some days it seems like God doesn't show up or that I am not making a difference. Thankfully the Holy Spirit prompted me to remember what God has been doing in my life and through my life to help students at FIU come to know God.  Deuteronomy 6:12 says,"be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." God is urging to the Israelites to remember what the Lord has done for them.  The Israelites were known for their forgetfulness.  Even though they were delivered from the Egyptians through the miraculous parting of the Red Sea they still tended to forget that it was God who delivered them.  Not themselves, but God.  I may as well been from the tribe of Israel because I embrace the same mentality on a regular basis.  I have been forgetting to acknowledge God for the amazing things he has done at FIU and in my life. 
       I have been so focused and determined to see students' lives changed these first couple months here at FIU that I have neglected to step back and recognize that God has been doing a mighty work in my heart and in the hearts of some of the students I have worked with.  There has been many times where I have asked God if he was even using me or working at FIU.  I came to doubt God because I didn't remember or acknowledge what he has done.  I never stepped back, stopped doing ministry for even just a moment to reflect and remember that God was moving and working and has been the whole. 
      I think of one of the students I work with and how God has been changing his life and shaping him into the man God has created him to be.  I get to hang out with him every week almost and we have gotten really close through our time spent talking about God and his impact on our lives.  God has showed him what his grace looks like and what it means to be a child of God.  The heart change has been incredible to watch as he went from wavering in his faith and questioning his relationship with God to a man who knows he is a child of God and now wanting to share God's love with others.  He has put God first and has given his life fully to him and seeing all of this has been such an encouragement to me.  The crazy thing is that if I wouldn't have stopped and really considered what God was doing in my friend's life I may have continued to doubt that God was working in this ministry. 
        I really hope and pray that the Holy Spirit continues to remind me of how important it is to stop and smell the roses. I don't want to get sucked into simply working hard in ministry yet never recognizing God's work and God's hand in the lives of those around me.  Stopping to smell the sweet aroma of the roses that God puts in my life allows me to continually trust in His sovereignty, love and power and prevents me from doubting His work.