This morning I stood in the shower praying for this and that, and I found my mind drawn to a specific situation in my life. It wasn’t going according to plan, and since it seemed to be going according to plan for others, I wondered if it was God’s will for me.
Is this what you want for me, Lord?
I mean, it seemed to be going well for people I watched around me, and since I wasn’t measuring up to the same results as they did I wondered if I had really heard God right.
I know you said this was your will for me, Lord, but is it still?!
And then I began to think about other aspects of my life thus far. Or perhaps, more appropriately, God brought to my mind those things.
It occurred to me, for not the first time I can tell you, that I wasn’t like everyone else. I had my own path it seemed.
My story of salvation? It was far different than most of my Southern friends. Raised initially in an atheistic environment, not discovering the real intricacies of a relationship with Jesus until I was twenty, and even then running away. A prodigal daughter slinking back sheepishly to God, and being amazed that He loved me despite all my dirty sins. I certainly didn’t have some pretty packaged story of how I accepted the Lord as my Savior; my story was almost unspeakable.
My perfect love story? Far from perfect, and miles from ordinary. Being promised the man I would marry, yet not marrying him until a decade or more later. Divorce to boot. Eek! My happily ever after came much later than most of my peers.
It took me almost ten years to earn an Associate’s degree, for goodness sake, and while many of my high school classmates had kids graduating, I was still conceiving!
It occurred to me as I stood in the early morning, hot shower spray that God’s plan for my life was built strictly for me, and it certainly wouldn’t mirror that of those around me.
My story of success was my own, and it couldn’t be confined within the definition of how others achieved their dreams.
I couldn’t measure my performance based on another’s model as God had a yardstick He used strictly for me. God had a plan for my life, and that plan didn’t fit into the same mold as anyone I could see.
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.
God’s promises hadn’t changed from the time of my birth. He always had His best for me. It simply rested on if I decided to see that or not, if I decided to believe it was true.
The fact remains that God has a specific story in mind for us all, and it’s unlike any story we’ve ever known. It isn’t like that of those around you, as its specially written with you in mind.
The key is trusting the author of creation, and being open to His plan for you.
Ayomipo Edinger says
Thank you for this needed reminder
Heather says
Hi Brie your post was so refreshing. None of us can be fit into a perfect little box and meet everyone else’s expectations. What is so neat is that just today I had told my adult daughter, some of the same things that you said in your post. She isn’t walking with the Lord at this time and has just gone through a very difficult situation in her life. I would love for her to begin to understand just how much she is loved by a God who only wants the very best for her. Your story is one I will share with her because I think she can relate to some of it. I also know that we have to be patient because God’s timing is not our timing and His ways are not our ways.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.