Praying When It Hurts...Obeying When It's Hard

Have you ever had to pray for or about something that you really didn't want to? Like you knew what YOU wanted to do and what YOU wanted, but you knew you needed to pray for God's will to be done? How hard it can be to sacrifice everything we desire, and crave, and have planned and hand it all over to God not knowing what He's going to do with it, but how comforting it is to know that God has marvelous plans marked out for us and although His plans may be entirely different than we built up in our heads, it's ultimately going to be more rewarding and joyful than we could imagine.

I'm a planner. I love knowing what's around the bend, what to expect. I've always been one to plan my future, mapping out significant milestones and decisions, giving myself deadlines, and really trying to force my future into the box that I want it to be in. And then this morning in prayer, BOOM!, God hit me with something hard.

It's not about the plans or the time or the deadlines. It's not about achieving those milestones or reaching those goals. Ultimately it's about living in accordance with My Word, seeking to become more and more like Christ, and allowing Me to transform you each day into someone more beautiful, more creative, more thankful, more compassionate, more giving, and with more wisdom. 

Relinquishing my future and the plans I've made in my head is so hard. It's like turning off Google maps on a roadtrip and saying "Let's wing it!". But as I really listened to what God placed on my heart, how could my future not be wonderful and full and beautiful if I'm living safely tucked in the hands of my Father? It's impossible. Living by the Word of God gives us freedom and liberation to live life to the full! So although I might not have two kids by 30, and an Irish Wolfhound in a two-story house in a quiet neighborhood where I'm a stay-at-home mom and miraculously learned to cook and craft; I will be blessed. I will be happy. My life will be beautiful.