When I was in high school, I struggled a lot with the concept on how to experience God in my life. I grew up in a Christian home so my faith blossomed from a very young age. This idea that testimonies were exclusive to the big, dramatic stories started to take root in my heart, and I felt invalidated in my faith. I am here to tell all you dear readers how that is so far from the truth! From my limited time at Biola, I have quickly learned that experiencing God, truly, can take form in the smallest ways. Enjoying a morning cup of coffee in the quiet, a long drive to the beach, feeling the sun kiss your skin, can all be beautiful moments of intimacy with the Lord, and serve as testimonies to His goodness and faithfulness in your life.

For me, I have been able to see God’s goodness and steadfastness in how he has preserved my family's faith that dates all the way back to my great-grandfather. He was a minister in Korea, and was martyred during the Korean War for professing his beliefs, and this legacy has trickled all the way down from him, to my grandfather, to my father, all the way down to me attending Biola. I can’t think of a specific time or moment where I was transformed from not believing in Christ to believing, but I hold tightly to the fact that He is indeed faithful in my life.

One of the most important things I’ve learned, in regards to understanding God and seeking Him more, is knowing Him as the Creator; as an art student, this has allowed me to connect to Him in a way that I hadn’t before. Knowing that He has created all things, and pays attention to every minute detail in nature, is such a beautiful kinship I hold with Him. And non-art students can definitely have this connection too; art is so wonderful because everyone can access and experience it. That may look like taking moments during the day to thank God for your food, your home, your family - all of these things being products of His creation and careful attention.

In a lot of my current art classes, the focus is to learn how to see the world, not just as something we live in, but something that we have been blessed with from God. His creation is a gift to us. Even if it’s admiring how the sun rests on a building outside, or how cows and dalmatian dogs are born with beautiful polka-dot prints, it all reflects God’s artistry and creativity. The wonderful thing about Biola is that I am able to receive high-quality education for my major, but also how our faith intersects with it.

For those that may feel like you’re in a slump and can’t feel or see God in your life - a very real and honest place to be that I also find myself in from time to time - a practical habit that I have seen work for people is a ‘gratitude journal.’ This is simply a ritual of writing down at least five things that you are grateful for that day! This slowly places our hearts into a posture of gratitude, viewing everything as a gift from God and showing His grace! And I know that during a pandemic, civil unrest, and social polarization, it can be very difficult to find things to be grateful for, but again, mustering up the strength to thank God for something that can seem so small - like the opportunity to take another breath - is sometimes the best thing we can do as Christ-followers.

As always, praying for all you lovely readers, especially during this time of shifting and uncertainty. <3


:+) Kristen