Aha!

If it’s going to go wrong it will, if it is going to break it will at the most inopportune time, and if it’s planned all out, well those plans probably won’t go accordingly. No person knows how their life is planned out or what is going to come their way next. We live life day by day and moment by moment because it’s what we know to do. You take the good with the bad, the bad with the ugly, and roll with it the best you can. What if your plans don’t go the way they should though? Let me tell you about the AHA! moment.

“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”

-Jeremiah 29:11

The saying “the Lord brought you to it and He will bring you through it” is what comes to my mind as I’m writing this. He is not going to bring us through anything He doesn’t think we can handle. A lot of people don’t understand that sometimes it means getting way out of your comfort zone and that being a little stressed out is normal. God never tells us what He puts us through is going to be like walking through a field of daises with the butterflies. He puts things on us and changes our plans to let us know He is in control and He only wants what is best for us. I have already said I can be a bit of a control freak over things at times, and God has certainly worked to break down that control in certain situations. I am a firm believer in things happening for a reason and not everyone agrees with that but hey, that’s okay. My reason being is every time I have had plans that have changed or things not go the way I think they should, I complain. a couple of months ago, I got mad and fussed because the baby had a blowout right as I needed to walk out of the door to go pick B up from school. I’m not mad at the baby (when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go), I’m just frustrated. I leave about the same time everyday because then I know what place I will be at in the school line and now I’m going to be three cars or more behind that. I get the baby cleaned up and I’m on my way (griping the whole way, of course). Wouldn’t you know, while on my usual route I get stuck behind the ones who drive ten miles under the speed limit and oh, look at that, my normal route has now been REDIRECTED. I’m so annoyed and aggravated, until I realize my route is being detoured because of a horrible wreck has just happened, literally no more than 5-8 minutes before I got there. I feel so ashamed of myself for complaining and fussing and tell God I’m sorry for having that attitude and to please be with the ones involved in the wreck because it looked horrible. I am really bothered on the rest of my ride and my mind goes AHA! What if all of those unplanned events thrown into my afternoon made me later than normal on purpose? What if I had left my usual time? It only would have taken me 5-8 minutes to get to that point of my route that the wreck had occurred. Would I have been involved? Only the Lord knows and maybe that is why I was late. Things happen just like they are supposed to and that doesn’t mean just like WE think they are supposed to. So many times in my life I have been mad, frustrated, upset, sad, or downright ill that things didn’t go my way only to later have that AHA! moment. I feel like that’s God saying “Do you see now why things didn’t go your way? I am in control because I know what is best for you. I know the plans I have in store for you and I need you to TRUST me.”. It’s easy to say you trust Him but sometimes it is easier said than done. Sometimes we want things to go our way but we “can’t see the forest for the trees” and we get so caught up in being mad or upset that it didn’t go our way, that we don’t see clearly WHY it didn’t. We have an older lady in the church that is one of the most Godly women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. During our last ladies meeting she said something that has really stuck out to me and is now how I strive to look at things. She said “lately I have been in a lot of pain but God gets me through it and I know there is a reason for all this pain.” Talk about a glass of ice water being thrown on me to wake me up! Every amount of pain we feel, every pain filled moment we go through in life, every struggle and hardship, we are not alone and there is a reason or purpose behind that pain. God will not put on us more than we can handle, even though we feel differently sometimes. We are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. The struggles we go through and the pain that goes with it are what makes us who we are. That pain makes our story and becomes our blessings. Those struggles that hurt us so bad also turn into potential blessings for others. We come out on top thanking God he showed us the rainbow after the storm, which helps us further build our testimony and reach others who are still battling the storm. Just know, if you are still fighting, God is right there with you in that storm. He is holding you and weathering it out with you and He is not going to leave you. Hold on a little longer and He is going to show you the most beautiful rainbow. Just hold on for that Aha! moment because when it happens, you will encounter one amazing blessing.