Reflections

The school year is almost over and I'm about to finish my first year of working at an Elementary school since I graduated college in 2012. A lot has happened since then and the growth I've seen in my own life has greatly increased. The hardships, transitions, spiritual and emotional stretching has all worked out in my favor, to God be all the praise! There have certainly been quite a few ups and downs, but I'm grateful to the Lord for bringing me through it all.

As I've reflected on the new experiences, transitions and growth I realize now that God had a specific plan and purpose in mind. I still can't fully see it all just yet but I'm beginning to see how certain events ended up working together to bring about maturity, growth and intimacy with the Lord. In hindsight, I now can see the fingerprints of God upon it all.

Back in January I wrote a post called Trusting God In A Holding Pattern. At that point I had just moved to a new town and was getting used to traveling new roads. Driving was extremely confusing for a while. (Again, I will admit that I'm not great with directions but am definitely getting better.) Roads that I rarely traveled seemed to go in circles. It was hard to comprehend how they all connected to the surrounding towns and cities. It was new to me and new can also be somewhat scary and confusing. The confusion wasn't confined to driving either; spiritually I began to feel the exact same way. I felt like I was going in circles similar to that of a holding pattern. I was waiting for the day when I would better understand what the Lord was doing in my life and how He was working. Nothing was making sense. Until I could better understand where I was going and what was happening in my life at that time, trusting God was the only thing I could do. Click here to go back and read the post from January.

Life Lessons

Now that I've been living in this new town for about 6 months or so things have gotten much easier. It's not as new as before. The familiar settings have helped me to get my bearings as I drive down the once unfamiliar roads. Last week as I was driving down the highway things began to connect for me. The roads I once found extremely confusing all made sense now. The endless circles became clear and I had the confidence to drive to new places without automatically reaching for my GPS. Everything seemed to be making a whole lot more sense! I wasn't confused anymore.

Amazingly, I began to feel the same way spiritually. Things began to make more sense to me. Trusting God didn't feel like a last ditch effort in an attempt to understand what He was doing in my life; it was my life. His asking me to trust Him was a lesson in letting go of control, a lesson in gratitude and a lesson of faith. Trusting God meant letting go of my own plans that I felt like He wasn't fulfilling; it meant living in complete gratitude for every season of life He's given to me and it meant walking in faith, believing that He would work on my behalf. Trusting God meant surrendering myself to Him and allowing Him to fulfill His plans in my life. Each event I've been through these past 6-9 months has brought me closer to this place.

I still can't see everything that the Lord is doing in my life right now but that's something I'm ok with for the first time in a long time. In fact, it's a reality that all believers have to live with.