A very close friend of mine returned to work this week after her dream of becoming a mother finally came true. She is heartbroken at the thought of leaving her baby girl with a babysitter, and trying to come to terms that, at least for now, it is not God's plan for her be a stay at home mom. Because I'm not a mother, I can only imagine the pain she must be feeling.
I noticed someone make a comment to her "Take it one day at a time, some days are as little as one breath at a time." And I began thinking...
How many times have I heard someone say 'I just want to know God's plan for my life.' We all want a divine revelation about what the future holds so that we know the exact step we should take next in order to get there. And following this expression of frustration, I've often given the advice to be in God's will today. If you are in His will today; you will move on into His will tomorrow; and before you know it you will be smack in the middle of God's plan for your life.
I believe this is exactly what my new momma friend sought to accomplish. She and her husband sought the Lord's will to become parents for years. Unable to conceive a child they began praying and searching for His divine plan. There's no doubt it was a daily search. And that daily seeking of Him brought them straight into His plan... adopting Baby BB.
However, this concept of one breath at a time, struck a chord. I am beyond overwhelmed with my job this week. My brain is running at warp speed. (I think my superpower is having the brain activity of two or three people!)
In the UCB's Word for Today, the author talks about praying for God's will every two or three minutes. This brings reality to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). The prayers that can be whispered to God any where, any time, are the ones that get us through the tough days. And they not only keep us in His will from day to day, but from moment to moment.
I remember a time in my life that my conversations with God were constant; and I want to return there. While I'm attempting to hurry through the line at the grocery store, I can thank Him for the ability to buy those comfort foods! As I'm sitting in a difficult meeting, I can ask God to let my words speak grace and mercy to both those easy and those difficult in the room.
As life overwhelms me, I am challenged with this new concept to not only be in His will today, but to be in His will this moment. "Some days are as little as one breath at a time..."
Hello, random stranger here. I was recently wanting to find more blogs written by folks whose interests included both social work and some form of Christianity, and found...well...you!
ReplyDeleteMany times in the last few months, my best friend and I had variations of conversations that reminded me of something you said in this entry, about wishing you just knew God's timing ahead of time. Since I was in my early 20s (or maybe even before), I was always wanting to find the right guy so that I could live the dream--you know, settle down, get married. I always prayed that I wouldn't be unusually old to be married by the time that happened. I think one of my specific prayers was that I would like to get married before I turned 30. Well...I'm engaged...and I'm getting married 6 months and 9 days before my 30th birthday. God's hilarious!
That said, there's something to your logic. If only I could have known at age 22 that just before my 25th birthday I would meet a great guy, and that a relationship would slowly build between us, and that our wedding would be in September 2013, I could have totally chilled out and concentrated on other things.
But where's the challenge in that, right? God is perfectly trustworthy, and He wants us to trust in his perfect plan. We would become panicky and demanding if He was that enabling!
It would also rob us of the adventure. I think God has plans for us in some sense, but I think He lets us write a bit of our own "choose your own adventure" books in some ways, as well. For instance, I'm a Social Worker, and while I just feel this is an awesome natural fit for my personality and values, and God probably had it in mind for me, I don't think He would have been disappointed in me if I had become, say, a schoolteacher. I think He gets excited to bless us in unexpected ways, and He knows we all need some adventure to keep it interesting :)
Keep the faith, keep writing, I like what I've read!
~stranger girl
Thank you very much for sharing your story. And congratulations on your engagement. God's plan is different for each of us while we're on this earth, but ultimately the will of God for all of is the same... to bring glory to Him.
DeleteEven though we are strangers, I'm glad to have another sister in Christ :)