God's Big Plan

I think I am finally reaching a point in my life where I am content with where God has placed me and my family. When I first moved to Maryland, I was practically begging the Lord to provide my husband with a job closer to home. I missed my friends, family and the familiarity of home. Time passed on and on and I was convinced that the Lord just wanted me to learn how to be content and secretly unhappy. Now that several years have passed, I see how wrong I was.

It started with finding work in this area. I wanted to work in an office setting so I could say I had a "real" job. I began that search about six months before I even got married and had no luck. When I did finally move down to Maryland, I decided to find work in a nursing home since I had worked in one for the past two years. Again, no luck. At last, I settled for applying at retail stores because sitting at home alone all day was driving me insane. Finally, I was hired at Old Navy.

I had to quit that job earlier this year because God blessed me with our son. Looking back at my time there, I really did enjoy my work. When I finally became comfortable with all of my responsibilites, I did not dread going. I even formed some friendships. I did have to leave the store before I realized these things, but I have discovered that is not always a bad thing.

Another thing I was craving here in Maryland was fellowship with Christian people. Being at work all day long with those who did not share the same values as I was emotionally and spiritually exhausting. I wanted someone to encourage me in the Lord! The church my husband and I attend is extremely large. Thousands of people walk in and out of those doors unnoticed and we fit into that category. The church strongly supported their small group program and encouraged all people to get involved with one. My husband and I finally buckled down and attended a small group launch program.

We have been with our small group for a year now and I am starting to truly enjoy everyone's company. We are all from different parts of the States and have moved away from our families to the Baltimore area because of job opportunities. How awesome is the Lord to have brought us together!

Another area that the Lord has blessed me in is my Stay-at-Home Moms Group. I saw an advertisement in our church's bulletin (which we never looked at, but my husband just so happened to grab one that fateful Saturday night). I saw on the back that a few women were trying to start up a Moms Group. I was extremely leery of joining because I knew I was probably going to be way younger than everyone else.

For six months I have been regularly meeting with the ladies in the Moms Group and I can say I am excited to see these ladies every week! We get along famously and have a great time talking to each other about the woes of being full-time Moms. Age makes no difference there.

It is amazing what my God has taught me these past two years. The biggest lesson I learned: do not question God's plan for you. He sees the big picture, while we only see a tiny speck at a time. In one moment everything may seem dark, hopeless and miserable, but if you hold on, the next moment everything is bright, hopeful and fantastic! God really loves us all and does have great plans for us!