What would happen if we just took time to reflect on our life and captured it with all its laughter, tears, celebrations, tragedies, wins and failures, both in its significant moments and in the everyday mundane things?

I think it would leave us super humbled and awestruck as we begin to notice the grace of GOD at work in every facet of our life.

Thats exactly what happens to me every single time I look at my life as a whole.

To this day, my parents remind me that my life is a miracle. The story goes that as an infant I had some complications and became very ill. The doctors were puzzled with my unique case and my family was afraid that they would lose me. But, God by his grace intervened and my life was spared.

During my teen years, I was tormented by low self esteem, struggled to find acceptance and love in relationships with family and friends and battled failures in school. Eventually in 1994, I was overwhelmed by loneliness and went into depression for few months. One day, my frustration grew worse and I decided to end my life. But, the day I had planned to take my own life, God by his grace made a friend visit me and through that conversation opened up my eyes to see His unconditional love and everlasting presence. Again, my life was preserved.

In 2000, during a mission trip to the Middle East, I met with an accident. The brakes in the van I was traveling in failed and it almost flung itself off the cliff. I had a near death encounter which to this day is very vivid in my memory. Yet again, God by his grace intervened and my life was protected along with everyone else in that van.

Today, as I look at my life, both in its significant moments and in the everyday mundane things, I can confidently say that it is God’s grace that preserved me from my mother’s womb, sustained me in my confused teen years, protected me from dangers, found me and showered love upon me even when I was indifferent and drenched in sin and continues to uphold me and keep me.

Not only that, It is the amazing grace, forgiveness and love that Jesus displayed on the cross that gives meaning, purpose and hope to my life in the here and now and continues to compel me to extend that same grace, forgiveness and love to others. In other words, as John Ortberg rightly puts it, “All of life is grace.”

Friends, life is not an accident. Nor is it just a series of meaningless events. It is a beautiful gift. As time unwraps this gift, may we be grateful that we get to live it and partake in God’s gracious active work in us and in others.
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Samuel Williams is co-founder & content director at Fluid. He is also the teaching pastor at Avenue Community Church in Toronto, Canada.