STANDING IN THE GARDEN IN YOUR NIGHT DRESS

"Next thing you know, you'll be standing in the garden in your nightdress and wondering how you got there."  I love this quote from a BBC series I am watching on Amazon Prime.  It grabbed me as soon as it was uttered and the wheels immediately began turning. Consider the scene--the lady who has declared herself terminally ill---YEARS ago--has gotten up from her supposed death bed after learning her husband has lost interest in her--she is standing in his prized garden when discovered by the mail deliverer.  When asked what she is doing--that was her reply.

How often have we all stopped in life--looked around us-and with a puzzled expression asked the same question---"How did I get here?"  This is NOT going according to my plan.  As we begin our trek as independent adults after school, we have aspirations and dreams of how our life is going to look. We will marry--live happily ever after--have 2.5 children---live in a house of our dreams, drive a fancy foreign sports car--travel the world--and watch golden sunsets in our brief old age.

There will be no struggles--financially, emotionally, or physically.  No bumps in the roads, no car wrecks, no storms, no illness, no death, no loss--it will all be a life just like a fairy tale--with us as the Queen/King.

Our plan is NOT God's plan--this life is NO picnic--we will not necessarily grab the golden ring---it probably will not look anything like our dream.  One day you look around and there you are standing in the garden in your night dress and trying to decide how you got there.  One day I woke up and my bed is in Fort Worth, Texas and I am trying to decide how I got here.

The answer is quite simple---it is NOT my plan--it is His plan.  In a step of obedience, I moved to Fort Worth.  My life does not look like I EVER thought it would.  He has His reasons for where I am and why I am here---I now stand on faith--faith that it is ALL for His good purpose.  So for today---standing here in the garden in my nightdress--I choose to believe He knows my future and what today looks like---He is not surprised by where I am--and He has plans for me and my future.  No time for questioning--time to move forward and being attentive--for the next right thing to do as He reveals His good plan for my hope and my future.

"God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." (The Message) 

Ephesians 3:20