A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life],
But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.

Proverbs 16:9 _AMP

 

 

The Lord has been gracious and patient and kind

we’ve been talking things out one subject at a time

careful contemplations, whispered prayers not on display

we’ve slowly begun to make fruitful headway.

 

Sometimes it feels like climbing all uphill

an unending journey I’ll never fulfill

I want to scale heights but I’m terrified—extremely

somehow, I must trust that He’ll help me achieve.

 

I’ve made some new decisions, not of my own,

made choices that frankly seem a bit too bold

but I have a feeling these thoughts are of His heart

I just have to make sure I do not hinder on my part.

 

There are curves, bumps, and corners I can’t see around

I haven’t a clue where I’m fully bound

He’s giving me answers when He knows I’m ready

there’s only one way—to be faithfully committed and steady.

 

Should something not pan out as I planned

maybe I just wasn’t holding His hand?

Yet I know He’ll be faithful to keep leading me

as long as I stay under His umbrella of safety.

 

~Marcell Warner Bridges

©23 August 2016

 

I don’t feel like a grown up. That’s what I told my therapist and she laughed. She said, “I don’t either.” We both agree that when we’re around people our own age, we don’t feel or think we act as mature as they are. I’m so glad I’m not alone in feeling like this! (And, if you do too, come join the party. The more, the merrier!)

 

My birthday is this week. It’s not “milestone” as such. However, it is still significant. At least to me it is.

 

You see, my mom recently gave me my baby book. We went through it page by page as she read to me each thing she had written (because in her words, “I have chicken-scratch for handwriting.”) Some of the things she wrote about my growing up years were so cute. You’d never know by being around me now that I ever had a terrible temper. Or that I was an extremely extroverted person.

 

I was a surprise baby in several ways. Especially being a girl instead of a boy. I chuckle when my mom tells me I wasn’t even named until my second day out of the womb and that my first name was added even days later than that. That’s what happens when you’re not expecting a little bitty 4 lb. 6 oz. girl.

 

I have to say growing up I was pretty sure I knew where I was going in life. I knew I loved the Lord with all my heart and I wanted to serve Him. I knew God had special things planned for me.

 

At least, that’s what I thought. Growing up is hard to do though. Life has a way of giving us plot twists. Some good, some bad, but each one gives us a chance to let God continue to weave His story through us. That is, if we’ll let Him.

 

I’m not just talking about physical growth either. I’m speaking of our spiritual growth. Just because we grow up in the flesh, does not mean we grow in the spiritual. We have to cultivate our story with God through prayer and the reading of His Word. And, not only that, once we determine which plot is ours to move through, we need to step out in faith and actually do the work of the Lord He has chosen for us.

 

There’s something I love, absolutely love, about God and the Bible. I’ll never run out of things to learn. I’ll never outgrow it. No matter how old I get in this life, there will always be something God can teach me through His Word. Truthfully, I never want to outgrow it.

 

I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I sure am glad I know who holds it.

 

If you’re struggling to see your future, wondering what God has in store for you, my advice is to just keep trusting in Him. Believing that He has all things working together for your good. For we walk by faith, not by sight.

 

From My Heart to Yours,

Marcie