I do not know if it is my first born birth order or my Type A personality; regardless I flourish when I have a plan set in place. I know what needs to be done, I can organize for efficiency, and I like to set up little systems to maximize my time because there is a good chance something similar will come up again that I can glean from this task and take onto the next.
What tends to bump me from my happy zone is when unforeseen instances occur that do not fit into the plan or what tends to happen more often for me is my plans do not stick to the timeline I had in place. These throw me off my game and I have a tendency to get frantic and anxious to get back to the plan.
It is fair to say, I am not a fan if my plan is not sticking to the script. Truer statement is through a lot of grace, God has shown me in life’s unpredictability, nuggets of joy can still be found.
It seems a lifetime ago I had my life all planned out. I knew what I wanted as a career, what age to marry, when I would start to have kids and even what I would do in my golden retirement years. What a sweet notion to have it all figured out for myself.
Though it is difficult at the time, we are fortunate life does not follow a script. Finding “the one” takes longer, married life is not as romantic as you imagine and teeters at brokenness and sometimes despite the best doctors and procedures, children do not come. Those are tough heart desires to have and wondering if your prayers are being heard. It often can leave you feeling alone and heartbroken. In my own journey, it was even harder to wrestle in these places because I had been put there intentionally.
For a reason.
For a season.
For a greater plan than we know.
The agony of sleepless nights wondering why, what is the lesson to learn, when will all the wondering end, brings prayers unbeknownst at the time closer to a tender Father who is helping a hurting child through healing and drawing them deeper into waters where they experience the power of His love and the limitless boundaries it has.
In those waters, you find unintentional fulfillment. Because when you seek God with all your heart, with all your soul, you meet Him where you did not expect to see yourself – unplanned yet hopeful.
He makes us strong where we are weak.
He comforts us in the unknown areas of our life.
Though we may not have planned our life to unfold as such, in His perfect plan we are just where we should be.
Be brave and courageous my friend. You are created for so much more than what we set our goals to. Stand firm in your faith and dare to trust fully. In singleness, in stressfulness, in waiting times or in grief. He is near and He can hear your whispered prayers, even if they come from unintentional circumstances. Unintentional is beautiful in its own plan.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
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