Proverbs 16:9 says, "A person may think up plans. But the Lord decides what he will do." Goodness, how many times have I gone out on my own only to find myself in more trouble and more heartache than if I had just waited on God and let Him lead. Sadly, I have an amazing amount of examples of that.
Over the last couple days, however, this verse just seemed to pull it all together. (He really does teach me great lessons ... I just need to remember those lessons as things come up)
In 2003 we got a dog. Tasha was the most incredible dog. From the beginning she let us know when she needed to be outside, she was so great with the kids ... and the entire family. She protected, she loved, she played, she did her job and she did it well. My beautiful German Shepherd thought she was a lap dog. We loved growing up with her. January 2014 she passed away. True to God's timing, a few weeks before her death, God brought someone into our lives who made us feel protected, was great with the kids ... and me, who loved, who played, who was there to show compassion when she passed away.
Anyway, we had loved Tasha. She didn't mind that we were gone so many hours of the day; she just loved us when we got home. We knew that she left big paws to fill but we missed having a little furry friend in our family. Oh, the puppies we found!
My "dream" dog, Cupid ... makes me smile!
We nearly went and got this precious one, but I got really sick
The search was on! Well, just a couple days ago, God sent .... a CAT!!!!! Uhmmm, that was never part of my plan. I am not a cat person by any stretch of the imagination! For a fleeting moment and it really was fleeting, I thought if I were to EVER get a cat it would definitely be a bengal kitten.
Remember the verse earlier where it said I may make my own plans but what God wants is what will happen? Haha, well a couple days ago we acquired a cat. Even choosing a name was an issue (she could've ended up with the longest name ever if we just combined everyone's opinion). Here she is ... Meeka!
... and she fits our family PERFECTLY! She adores all of us. She was just laying on my hands as I typed. She needed a family and now she has one. The amazing this is how Meeka has worked in the kid's lives already. My son immediately went and started cleaning his room (yea, I have all my dishes back!). My youngest daughter (who typically tries to find sleepovers and be with her friends) was begging to come home. My oldest daughter, for the first time ever, hated to leave the house to go to dance (absolutely amazing). The biggest thing, however, was last night as I heard my daughters in the other room, talking and laughing together at some of Meeka's antics.
We went through a period of "yuck" and I struggled to bring this family together as a team ... is it possible that God is using a CAT to achieve that goal???? Crazy, but I've learned that He can do the impossible ... and He knows what He's doing!
We can trust our God. He knows what He's doing!
Until next time ... Simply Trust!
Feeling all kinds of thoughts and emotions tonight. You know, that feeling where you just need to walk, regroup and sort through things. Haha, I procrastinated just long enough to know that it will be dark soon and, although I know my park would be perfect and I would be glad I went, I decided to stay home instead.
A year ago I made a special gift for a friend ... 365 days filled with God's promises. Let me tell you, whenever you are feeling down, do something for someone else and you'll feel so much better. Start writing up 365 of God's promises and you will most definitely be the one who is beyond blessed.
Throughout that experience (and talking to my BFF, of course) there are certain promises that I hold onto super closely, while they all comfort me. (We will talk about those another day).
Tonight I want to talk about the promise found in Isaiah 51:11 "My everlasting joy and gladness will drive all sorrow and mourning away." My children and I have experienced a lot of loss, which lead to trying to deal with a family load of grief, confusion, heartache and just a lot of hurt. We seriously went through a lot of "yuckies" as many families do ... but the beauty of this promise is that we did not have to stay in the state of "yuck".
God reached down and surrounded my family with His love. He sent a team of support and encouragement. He sent a remarkable church family. He provided us with Godly counsel in ways that only He could do. I have this joy inside that can shine brighter than the darkest clouds, if I allow it to. Sure, if I look around at people, circumstances, the world I could sink right down into despair but I choose to focus on the good. God's track record is so amazing how can I not. He promises us EVERLASTING joy and gladness. Kind of like giving birth ... you go through a lot of pain ... but then you are holding that precious gift from God and you experience this incredible love. In life we will sometimes go through chapters of sadness and grief but if we hold on to Jesus and keep our eyes on Him we can experience joy and gladness despite our circumstances...and one day we will get to experience that for all of eternity. That's really cool!
Until next time ... Choose Joy!
I have started and stopped so many times to write this because, well, I am an over thinker. Trust me, that is not always a good thing. I have prayed over it, talked about it, and thought a lot about it, wanting it to be good ... to be helpful.
I noticed, as I look back over my life, that I wrote in my journals a lot ... during the rough times. Then when things were great, although I wanted to journal and capture every moment, I discovered I was so busy enjoying those things that my journal time began to fade away.
Lol, that brings me to today. Trying to choose a name for this blog, for one who tends to over think, was a daunting task. I always thought it would be something about Pathways so I chose Pathways in the Park. In an effort to "escape" I would go walk in "my" park and the lessons learned were amazing. Then, however, I would think about how all of my revelations didn't happen in the park ... but, of course, the pathway of life.
My next thought, then, was Trusting His Pathway. God is writing an incredible story in my life ... but it hasn't always been easy to just trust! I want this to be as real and truthful as can be so it struck me this morning, this blog should be called "Remarkable Journey". That's truly everything in a nutshell. This pathway that I have been on has been nothing short of remarkable.
So, trying to figure out how to set this all up, one window shows the new name, one window still shows the Pathways in the Park but we'll figure it out. Haha, and if not, I will ask one of my kids to help me.
I hope you'll come back and hear more about this incredible journey and also share some of your own!
Until next time ....Be Sunshine!
