the name the angel had given him before he was conceived….(Luke 2:22)
One of the things I look forward to the most as a young mom is seeing who my child will become. What will become of her life? What will be the things she values? What will God do with her life? Those are all questions I have. Only time will tell how those questions will be answered.
The truth is, God has a plan for my child, one I am deeply unaware of, yet a plan that I can trust will be for her good and for my own personal growth. It might not be a plan that I’ll understand at the time, but it will be one that I can believe the best in.
Friend, this current place your in may not feel great. It may feel scary or uncertain. It might even feel like God is doing nothing. You may have been praying and praying and seen very little fruit. Chances are God has been doing quite a bit, but you’re focusing on all the wrong things. Instead of praising Him for the little victories you’re getting caught up on all the small stuff that hasn’t turned around just yet.
Here’s the thing though friends, and trust me, I am learning this very slowly. God moves mountains, yes, but sometimes He just does it by an inch or two. Therefore, He is working, but He didn’t throw that mountain out and put a new palace in for you like you’d hoped Instead, He just lowered the mountain a bit and gave you a place to camp. I know, I know, you don’t want to camp here any longer, but maybe there’s something about this mountain that will never completely change the way you want it to, because you need to change your expectations of what it means for God to be good in your situation.
Just as my daughter will face many trials someday, I pray that I can show her how to embrace them and not run from them. I pray also that I would be brave and wise enough to say that God is good, even when those around me are facing their own challenges. Instead of creating a way of escape for them, I pray that I would have the patience to watch them grow with God in the valley.
Friend, maybe that’s it. Maybe your journey is not what you thought it was going to be, but its really all about learning to embrace with joy where God has you, so you can show others the way to peace and contentment with God. No matter what season, diagnoses, crisis or stage of life. Believe the best and know that in Christ, the best is yet to come.
Lord, you are light and peace. You’ve proven yourself trustworthy. Therefore, I don’t have to fear, but I can believe the very best. Let it be so, I pray, in Jesus name, Amen.
Heather Quiroz 