HOW DID I DO IT?
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” - Lk. 1:35
This month marks the end of a two-and-a-half-year journey to finish my part-time MBA program. Every time someone finds out about it, one of the questions they ask is how I find the time and energy to go to school along with everything I’m involved with. My default answer, however, usually falls along the lines of “I power through it” or “I’m always tired” or “You just get used to it.” Essentially, they were non-committal answers to a question I never truly thought about.
Throughout graduate school, I spent most of the time focusing on the classes at hand, putting things off until after the program, or just trying to rest before the next big crisis. It wasn’t until my last final a few days ago did I look back and ask myself the same question everyone else already exhausted themselves asking me.
“How did I do it?”
Reflecting back, it was through God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s guidance that I persevered, overshadowing me when I was a shadow of my former self. In the past few years, I experienced some of my lowest lows from my grandmother’s hospitalization to my struggles with my own self-worth and crippling depression. Those same years, however, I’ve learned self-care and gentleness, embarked on the most wonderful traveling adventures, and grew spiritually, personally, and academically. In all of that was God.
It was Him working through my friends and family supporting me in every little thing I couldn’t handle. It was Him gently reminding me to rest and be kind to myself when I felt overwhelmed. Honestly, how many times did God in His own way tell me, “It’s okay. We got this. I am with you,” when I could only hear my own weakness? How many times did the Holy Spirit take me in its wings to comfort me and give me strength when I thought I had nothing more to give?
Mary felt troubled when the angel Gabriel came to her, but she found strength and comfort in the Lord even when she didn’t know what the future may have held. For me, hindsight is 20/20. Even when I didn’t recognize it, God stood by my side being anything from a shadow to a bright light whenever I needed it even when I didn’t know I needed it. The answer I never recognized was right in front of me. How did I do it?
“…for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Thank you, Lord, for all those times You stood by us and gave us strength even when we could not recognize it. Help us to foster this gratitude, joy, and trust in You each day, and open our hearts to receive Your love in the greatest gift of all, Your Son Jesus.
Kevin Nguyen