Let Go. Let God.

The most challenging part of my journey as of late has been realizing that God wasn't punishing me or torturing me, but that He was giving me an opportunity to GROW. Once I was able to see past the fact that my very well thought out lifelong plans had all completely fallen apart, I was able to see that God had bigger and better plans for me- not just for the future, but for right now as well.

 

I am about as simple as they come when it comes to my walk with God. I am not a super spiritual, crazy smart theologian by any means. I just love the Lord and try to serve Him daily. This past year all I was able to see was that all of the plans I had for my life were falling through my fingertips. I did not understand why God was just leaving me by the wayside to waste away. I felt like he was completely ignoring my prayers. Those were all lies from the enemy that he was putting in my head to blind me from what God really wanted to do.

 

For me, the lesson was simple. I needed to find fulfillment in Him. Rather than spending every waking moment planning every little detail of my life, He was calling me to let go of all of it and just trust Him. It is something I have to overcome daily, fighting the planning, dreaming, control freak inside me. So, I am learning one day at a time to trust Him, focus on Him, seek Him, GROW in Him, and just let Him handle the rest. It boils down to this very simple truth. Do you really want your life to unfold from the imperfect plan you have for it? Or, do you want it to follow the perfect plan (in the perfect timing) that He has always had for you? I think I would rather have the latter because it is far better than anything that I could come up with! 

 

Be encouraged! If you are going through a waiting period, don't be blinded by the lies of the enemy. Try to look past that and see what God is really up to. I believe it is more beautiful than anything you could have had planned.

Here are a few of my favorite go to "pick me ups" when I need a reminder of God's promises. These songs and verses have changed my heart and helped me understand that the waiting isn't just a dormant period- but a GROWING period! I have even grown an appreciation for this time in my life. I love seeing that the Lord is teaching me and shaping me as a woman of God. Excited to see what else He has up His sleeve. :)

Playlist:

While I'm Waiting- John Waller

Help Me Find It- Sidewalk Prophets

Need You Now- Plumb

Blessings- Laura Story

Hurricane- Natalie Grant

Don't Give Up- Calling Glory

Reading List:

Ephesians 3:20

Luke 12:25-28

Isaiah 40:27-31
Jeremiah 29:11

The Inspiration...

  

I have always loved writing and after recently stumbling across various blogs of fellow young women of God, I have really felt the Lord leading me to start a blog of my own. This blog is titled "Finding The Happily Ever After". My posts will basically be a journal of my life from struggles to blessings and all that falls between. In a world where you feel all alone at times, it has been a comfort to me to find that other women have walked through the same fires as me. They have been a huge part of inspiring me to find joy again- even in the midst of a storm. If my journey can do that for anyone out there in the blogosphere, then that is reason enough for me to launch this ministry.

To give you a glimpse into what "Finding The Happily Ever After" means for me, let me give you a quick walk down memory lane. My whole life, I have always been a dreamer, a planner, and well- a control freak! I have always yearned for what is next all the while thinking that "next step" will be where I find my happiness. I have had a life full of, " I can't wait to... be a teenager, be in high school, be in college, have a boyfriend, get engaged, get married, own a home, have a dog, have babies..." I have spent countless hours dreaming about, planning for, and doing everything in my power to make each step happen and happen the way I wanted it to. Boy, was I off track?! 

Here I am... almost 26 years old, blissfully married to the love of my life for the last 4 1/2 years, and beyond ready for yet another "next step". Waiting on babies...that is where I am at right now. The last few years have seemed as if my life had come to a screeching halt. I felt empty, purposeless, even depressed- at times.

It wasn't until just about 4 months ago that everything finally came into perspective for me. As fellow dreamers, planners, and control freaks know... having Patience and Trust in a plan that is not your own is nearly impossible. Maybe I just wasn't standing still and listening these past 26 years; but for the first time in my life, I felt like I was hearing God speak to me. It was as if everything I came across was in sync. Every sermon at church, every song on the radio, every Bible verse I read all spoke the same message. Some, maybe even most, of these messages were all words that I had heard a million times before and even knew by heart.

With all that said, I will leave you with a few lessons that He has been teaching me:

• "Be still."
• "Trust Him."
• "Let go of my plans, and let Him control my life."

and most of all...

• "Be fulfilled and content in Him, finding my happiness in Him rather than next steps."   

HE IS ABLE to do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. AMEN. - Ephesians 3:20-21