"Throughout the history of God's people as given to us in the Bible, we see that life is a test. We have before us the option to trust God "no matter what," or to walk away from Him. To walk away from God is to leave the fragments of our dreams in pieces on the floor, but to trust Him is to let God pick up the pieces and make us whole again. When we choose to let Him make us whole again, he will make our lives more beautiful than before."
"What I Learned from God While Quilting" by Ruth McHaney Danner & Cristine Bolley~
The words from this quote "Life is a Test" stood out to me. I did a Bible study on Genesis, last month, and I noticed that when God used people, they had to be willing to change their own plans. Some of them argued with God and doubted that they had the ability to do what He asked of them. Some of the people God used actually gave in to their sinful nature. I don't think that they realized how God was using them - that we would be reading about them and learning from their stories a few thousand years later.
I'm the type of person that likes to make my plans and goals and then see them accomplished. However, things end up usually not going my way. 19 years ago, I had a plan to become a nurse. But, I got married and had 5 kids. I'm still raising those kids and homeschooling them. !9 years ago, 5 kids and homeschooling were not in my plans. I had no intention of putting the nurse dream on hold for this long. There were many times that I grumbled and was frustrated that I couldn't get back to doing what I really wanted to do, especially when I saw other women going back to school.
Things are different now. I realize that I am doing exactly what God wants me to be doing. I really feel like I am living in His will. I've realized that for our family, homeschooling is the best thing for us. It's allowed us to grow closer as a family, travel through out the year, and to teach our children academic and spiritual lessons through real life situations that arise during the day. During this last year, I've felt a conviction to help encourage my children spiritually. Their Christian growth is so important and I have a real desire that they learn about serving God and following His will.
As far as becoming a nurse - I don't want to do that any more. Now I realize that I never really wanted to do it. I liked the idea of being a nurse and I knew that it would be easier for me to get a job. God has given me other interests in counseling and social work and when the timing is right, I'll go back to college to learn about what I really want to do. Jobs in this field won't pay as well, but I'm getting beyond that.
I'm seeing that it's best to figure out what God wants me to do and to trust Him. When I feel like I'm living in His will and being used by Him, I feel content and secure even though my physical world doesn't appear to be successful.
17 comments:
What a great post!! I love this and it's so true...that when God used people, they had to be willing to change their own plans
Loved this!
I saw myself in this....I THOUGHT I knew what I was going to DO and BE...only to have God work in me...infertility...then homeschooling...
It is living His will not the world's.....Shari, you sound strangely like me...where are you hiding the cameras!?
have a great day!
lori
Dear Shari,
This was great...when we are in God's will we are in the BEST place for our lives at that time.
I so admire you for homeschooling your children, what a privelege, what a challenge and I'm sure great JOY.
Blessings to you♥
Amen! Great post!
Great post! Bless you for sharing.
We definitely have to be willing to change our own plans. But there's no better place to be than right smack dab in the middle of God's will for us - no matter what it requires of us.
Wonderful post!
Karen
www.homesteadblogger.com/tagblog
Our dreams may not be God's dreams for us...and we realize that His dreams are better in the long run. I think it's hard to give up those dreams sometimes though - we want to grasp at them and try to put them back together again instead of trusting God for a bigger plan.
I want to be willing to change my plans at a moment's notice to follow Jesus' calling.
lovly post! We really are all in God's hand
I'm proud that you've realized that what you're doing IS GOD'S calling for your life. The Bible DOES teach us to be "busy at home." I'm just thankful that we have "blogging" as an outlet for grownup conversation. LOL!!
I'm a stay at home mom too! We're also homeschooling so I can identify with a lot of what you said. =-)
Awesome post, be blessed.
I had to laugh to myself as I read this. I could have written it verbatim except for the part about no longer wanting to be a nurse. A small part of me still desires to be sometimes. I am thankful that the Lord placed me on this journey of homeschooling. It has brought many joys, many tears but mainly moments that money just can't buy. Hugs! And thanks for sharing!
Amen!! I love this post!! I chose to homeschool my boys and made sacrifices that most didn't understand as I was a single mom. I would rather follow God's will for my life than anything. I say way to go and God will honor you for choosing His desires over your own!!
Blessings,
Patty
hi, nice post
"Some of them argued with God and doubted that they had the ability to do what He asked of them."
So true even now!
Thanks for sharing this today!
I've put some stuff on "hold" to raise and teach my kids, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. God sure is smarter than I am.
Living life in God's plan does involve patience and waiting. Thanks for being a good example of both.
I couldn't agree more. I've been defending my choice to keep my family a priority to well-meaning friends who think I should go after my dreams (ie return to school). What they don't understand is that I don't feel as though I'm missing out on anything. And though I will probably do something once my youngest enters kindergarten, it won't be something that takes away from them. I'm sure it'll be a challenge to find. . . but I know God will provide in His time. It's nice to know there are other women out there who desire to serve God by loving their families. As always, nice post.
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