We are coming up on the 1 year anniversary of my Papa Jacks death. As I reflect back on this past year, and the events that have taken place; I find it sometimes.... Hard.... To understand the very purpose we are all here. Shortly after we lost our Papa, we lost my dad’s brother, my Uncle Greg. Then in February, we lost my mom’s brother, my Uncle Mike... Now we have lost a longtime family friend, my Uncle Stan from the devastating tornado that ripped through Joplin on May 22nd. This weekend we will say goodbye. We will continue to pick up the pieces, continue to help others rebuild their lives, homes and futures.
Still I sit here finding it hard to understand. I guess I miss the simplicity of life from when you are a kid. Granted we all wanted to grow up so fast; being a kid.... Well it was easy. My biggest worry in the summer was where I was going to ride my bike that day, or whose yard I was going to mow, and lastly was getting to that nights softball games. Now days, there is a mortgage, a car payment or 2, bills, bills and bills... LOL! Not that I am complaining, but for some reason when we are a kid, we don’t over analyze things and situations. We live in the moment, and most of the time we don’t worry about how others really view us. Kids typically speak from the heart, and never hold back...
I thought I would share something a friend of mine gave me a few years ago, it hangs in my cubicle and I read it daily….
Gods Plan
“Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. “
God has a plan for your life. He brought you into this world to fulfill this plan. It is the best plan that anyone could ever make for you. It is a plan that will bring Him the greatest glory and you the greatest good. From the beginning of each day until its end, God is working out his plan.
As you follow God’s plan for your life, you do so by faith. It is important to remember that he is the Guide and you are the follower. He does not need to bring you into His planning room as a consultant to help Him decide what is best for your life. God has called you to trust Him and to take the next step of obedience according to His will. God has said “I will bring the blind by a way they did not know, I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16
Last I always read this quote when I am down in the dumps so to speak...
There is nothing that is so chaotic that God cannot bring something surpassingly great out of it. It happened at creation, it happened at the cross and it is happening today!
