After my first year teaching, I felt like I was drowning.

In general, I enjoy being knowledgeable, being in charge, being confident…

And I felt everything but that in my new career.

I prayed that there would be some sort of help for me the following school year, because I didn’t know if I could handle the helpless feeling anymore.

And then there was some major school/teacher shuffling that happened during the summer, and all of a sudden I was being offered a team lead position – basically by default.

Accepting that team lead position after one year of teaching was EXACTLY what I needed, both professionally and personally.

It helped build my confidence and my knowledge exponentially. It brought me professional relationships that changed me.

It was nothing short of a miracle, an answered prayer in the most dramatic of ways.

But on the other hand, it wasn’t.

I could tell you exactly why Mrs. A needed to change schools due to a family situation, why Mrs. B was making a career change, why Mr. C got a position at the high school…

It’s not like they all magically disappeared.

It was a series of small, reasonable, logical changes that resulted in a miracle for my life.

The Lord orchestrates everything.

Sometimes he moves mountains and parts seas for us.

But I think that most of the time, the plan is so intricately interwoven that a miracle of a different school for my coworker results in the miracle of a leadership position for me, which then created a miracle job opening for someone else…

It’s all connected.

And it’s super easy to forget that the Lord is sparing us and saving us every single time.

But that was what marked the total demise of the Nephite nation:

Being spared time and time again, but not realizing who was actually behind all of it.

Thinking that it was just their cunning and strength that won them each battle, when in fact, their cunning and strength were given to them by the Lord in order to win the battle.

Miracles often look logical and ordinary, but the credit still belongs to the Lord.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Being spared again and again first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

… great humans are raised.

By eating foods that provide nutrients, by moving your body every day, by loving your body for what it can do…

… great, healthy lives are lived.

By thanking your spouse often, by intentionally connecting with them each day, by comforting instead of criticizing…

… great marriages are created.

By meeting deadlines, by treating coworkers with respect and kindness, by doing your best even when no one is looking…

… great, hardworking individuals are formed.

By being kind to yourself in your own thoughts, by setting healthy mental boundaries, by taking time to do things you enjoy…

… great, fulfilled people are molded.

By opening your book every single day, by taking time to ponder and write, by reading supplemental materials…

… great, passionate scriptorians are born.

It’s easy to lose perspective when we are in the thick of the little things.

But looking back, we can see where our habits and actions have led us.

And so we can look forward with that same foresight and purpose.

The little things you do today, from mundane to meaningful, from exciting to expected, are adding up to greatness.

The little things seem so little, but are truly little pieces of greatness.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Small and great things first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.