Be Careful What You Ask For
Have you ever wanted something really badly? I mean, you think about it, daydream about it, plan how to get it, work for it...and finally you get it!! You celebrate! You revel in it...and then, when the dust settles, you look around you and suddenly hear this question ringing out in your head:
"Is this it? Is this what all the fuss was about?? Seriously?"
It's hard to admit when that thing you wanted, whether it was a new home, a new job, an experience, a relationship...whatever, doesn't bring you the fulfillment that you thought it would. Even harder when people are watching you, because to shrug your shoulders and walk away for lack of satisfaction, to them looks like failure. And no one wants to look like a failure.
Many years ago, as newlyweds, my husband and I used to spend many Sunday afternoons driving through neighborhoods that we knew were not only out of our price range, but out of our social comfort zone. But we thought that's where we needed to be. We dreamed about living in one of those big, beautiful homes in one of those fancy neighborhoods...we planned how to get there, we worked hard and finally....we bought the 'home of our dreams!' (Or so we thought at the time!)
But it didn't take long for the discontent to set in; the feeling that there must be more to it than this. I didn't want to admit to my husband that "it just didn't feel right." So we put in a pool. Surely that would make things better. Right.
I remember the day that we were driving to our beautiful home in the fancy neighborhood from church. In a 12 passenger van. With 7 children yelling, laughing, singing, fighting, and just making noise in general. I looked at Randy and said, "Do you ever get the feeling we should move?"
There. I said it. I'm not sure why I said it. But I did. His response both shocked me and comforted me at the same time. "Yeah, I do. Do you feel it too?"
Boy, did I feel it. Knowing that he felt the same way was like having a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. We knew what we needed to do. And within a few months there was a FOR SALE sign on the lawn.
It almost felt like we had asked God to give us this thing that we thought was best for us. And begged And pleaded. Until finally, God said, "Fine. You think this house will make you happy? Here you go. But soon you'll see that I had something better in mind for you."
Our pursuit of God's plan took us to a place I would have never dreamed that we would end up, but here we are, twelve years later, and you couldn't drag me back to that house or neighborhood.
Why am I sharing this story? Because God has done it again... He gave me something I had wanted for a long time, I had dreamed of it, planned for it, worked for it...and once I got it, almost immediately I knew: This wasn't it.
So here I go again, pursuing God's plan for my life. It's a humbling experience, because this is one of those things that I feel people are watching. And from their point-of-view, I'm sure it looks like I failed. Maybe I did...but not like they think. I failed at following God's plan for my life all along. My agenda got in God's way. There is no greater failure than that.
It's an important lesson to learn as a child of God, to trust our Father to lead us in the right direction. Remember Psalm 23...the Lord is my Shepherd? Yeah...well, don't forget the part about, "He leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake."
God will show us the way if we'd stop trying to be a backseat driver. Remember the bumper sticker: JESUS is my Co-Pilot. Perhaps the smarter thing to do would be to let Jesus be the Captain and we take a seat in coach and hush up. :)
Be blessed!
"Is this it? Is this what all the fuss was about?? Seriously?"
It's hard to admit when that thing you wanted, whether it was a new home, a new job, an experience, a relationship...whatever, doesn't bring you the fulfillment that you thought it would. Even harder when people are watching you, because to shrug your shoulders and walk away for lack of satisfaction, to them looks like failure. And no one wants to look like a failure.
Many years ago, as newlyweds, my husband and I used to spend many Sunday afternoons driving through neighborhoods that we knew were not only out of our price range, but out of our social comfort zone. But we thought that's where we needed to be. We dreamed about living in one of those big, beautiful homes in one of those fancy neighborhoods...we planned how to get there, we worked hard and finally....we bought the 'home of our dreams!' (Or so we thought at the time!)
But it didn't take long for the discontent to set in; the feeling that there must be more to it than this. I didn't want to admit to my husband that "it just didn't feel right." So we put in a pool. Surely that would make things better. Right.
I remember the day that we were driving to our beautiful home in the fancy neighborhood from church. In a 12 passenger van. With 7 children yelling, laughing, singing, fighting, and just making noise in general. I looked at Randy and said, "Do you ever get the feeling we should move?"
There. I said it. I'm not sure why I said it. But I did. His response both shocked me and comforted me at the same time. "Yeah, I do. Do you feel it too?"
Boy, did I feel it. Knowing that he felt the same way was like having a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. We knew what we needed to do. And within a few months there was a FOR SALE sign on the lawn.
It almost felt like we had asked God to give us this thing that we thought was best for us. And begged And pleaded. Until finally, God said, "Fine. You think this house will make you happy? Here you go. But soon you'll see that I had something better in mind for you."
Our pursuit of God's plan took us to a place I would have never dreamed that we would end up, but here we are, twelve years later, and you couldn't drag me back to that house or neighborhood.
Why am I sharing this story? Because God has done it again... He gave me something I had wanted for a long time, I had dreamed of it, planned for it, worked for it...and once I got it, almost immediately I knew: This wasn't it.
So here I go again, pursuing God's plan for my life. It's a humbling experience, because this is one of those things that I feel people are watching. And from their point-of-view, I'm sure it looks like I failed. Maybe I did...but not like they think. I failed at following God's plan for my life all along. My agenda got in God's way. There is no greater failure than that.
It's an important lesson to learn as a child of God, to trust our Father to lead us in the right direction. Remember Psalm 23...the Lord is my Shepherd? Yeah...well, don't forget the part about, "He leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake."
Be blessed!
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