Today's gospel and reading tie together beautifully. In the midst of finals, never-ending
assignments, jobs, or personal problems, I think we can find comfort in the first reading.

“The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces.”

It reminds us that in our relationship with God, He sees and understands our pain and
brokenness. Then in the gospel, the all-too-familiar story of the fish and the loaves reminds us
that anything is possible through Christ.

Many people question why bad things happen if God can do the impossible. Life doesn’t pan out
in perfect ways and we’ve all experienced the pain of praying hard for something that doesn’t
end up happening. However, I firmly believe in looking for the good that can come from the bad.
It is seeking God in the bad times when our faith is really tested. One might think it’s cruel to put
our faith to the test, but from experience, sometimes it brings us even closer to God.
It wasn't until I hit rock bottom that I found Him in the most profound way. What is finding God?
For me, it’s not the initial realization of God’s existence, but our relationship with Him. Because
we’re human, sometimes our faith becomes lukewarm without realizing it. I believe finding God
is a continuous search that isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it means you’re choosing Him over and
over again.

For many years, I had been thanking God for all the good that had come into my life, but it
wasn’t until this semester that I praised God’s goodness in even the worst of situations. In the
span of a week, classes had started, my grandma died, and heartbreak chased after me. I
questioned what I did to deserve any of the bad things that were happening. I wanted to
continue being the joyful person I was but inside I felt tired and broken. Still, I took that
brokenness to God and found peace in praising God even when it felt like there was nothing to
praise. When I think about Jesus saying, “Your faith has saved you,” I never thought about it
possibly meaning our prayers for others could eventually save our future selves. I like to believe
all my past prayers and encounters with God saved me when I needed it the most. It’s a
beautiful realization; the relationship you are seeking with God, that faith you’re building up now,
or even that faith you once had will save you in the future.

As Yale students, sometimes we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel for things in both
our academic and personal lives. It's hard to see how things will turn out when we're living in the
bad moments; we trust God, but we’re still naturally anxious human beings. In those bad times
especially, let us pray to remember God’s goodness. It is in those times that we realize there is
still so much to praise and thank God for.