Redirected? What does that even mean? To me it means that life hasn’t quite gone according to plan. Well, my plan, that is. But it also means that it HAS gone according to a greater plan – God’s plan. You see, I love Jesus and believe that God has a better plan than my own (even if it’s hard to believe sometimes. I love making plans…and lists. I almost always have a plan and a list in hand).
As a Christian I believe that God is the source of all good. And so it stands to reason that I believe Satan is the source of all bad. (Is this oversimplification at its best or what?) So even though I don’t believe God is the cause of the bad things that happen in life, I do believe that he works all things (bad and good alike) together for good. Thank goodness for that.
So what does redirection mean to me? I guess it means that I’m letting God reach into my life, grab hold of the plans I’ve so carefully made, toss them out the window, and lay his own (and ALWAYS better) plans in my (usually…hopefully) willing and outstretched hand.
You see, my adulthood journey has been wrought with the unexpected. Unexpectedly being diagnosed with MS after our first year of marriage. Unexpectedly moving back to our hometown after my diagnosis and the unexpected, all-too-soon death of my mother-in-law. Unexpectedly feeling called by God to move with our three kiddos to help plant an awesome church in Valparaiso, IN (http://www.rollinghillsvineyard.org). Four years later, unexpectedly feeling called by God to leave said church plant in order to move to a new city with no explanation other than that’s what God was asking of us.
Redirected. Time and time again. Honestly, it’s exhausting. If I didn’t trust that God was at the wheel, I would’ve given up long ago. Sometimes my husband and I look at each other and just shake our heads, baffled. But then we keep going. And we keep trusting that God has a better plan than ours.
We do our best to embrace the detours even when we honestly don’t know what, why, or how. But really? I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because God keeps proving himself and reminding us that He’s got our back, just like he always has and always will. Even when bad things happen, He is still good and will work all things out for good in the end.
Right now sometimes it’s hard to see the good. We’re still pretty new to this city and it’s slow going making friends and connections. We look back at the life we left behind and it was full of life, friends, and fun. Now it takes work to rebuild. Hundreds of unknowns lie before us and we have to choose every day to accept this new life and look forward to it with joy, knowing it’s the path God is laying out for us. Trusting that God will work it all out for good in the end.
What things are you trusting God to work out for good in your life today?
