He has a Plan

God works in wonderful ways. It's always so amazing to look back on events and see how God orchestrated them to work out so perfectly.

One example of this is with regard to my new housing situation for next year. For those of you who don't know, in the spring I will be moving to a staff member's house to rent one of her rooms. When I look back on this event I see how it came to pass:
I am friends with Shane, Shane knew I loved cats, so when his boss brought a cat into work, he told me about it and I came to play with the cute little thing. I chatted with Shane and his boss for about an hour that day. Later, when I was looking for a new roommate I saw Shane's boss's advertisement on eaglenet. I thought to myself that I would love living with this nice woman. I called her up, only to find that someone had already taken the room. Sad day. So I found a new roommate and signed up to live on campus for the next semester.

Then, a few weeks before the end of the semester, Shane's boss texted me to let me know that the room would be up for rent again in the spring and that I was welcome to come check it out. I have since had several wonderful conversations with her and know that I will fit in well with her and the other people living in her house. I am really excited about moving off campus, it will save my family a ton of money, I will have a room to myself, and a bit more independence.

Clearly God wants me to live on campus next semester, because it didn't quite workout for me to move out in the fall, but the circumstances leading me to even consider living with this woman and her husband worked out so perfectly that I really feel God's hand in it.

Another string of circumstances that still amazes me is one that led me to the book Passion & Purity by Elisabeth Elliot. Because I talked to my passion leader about my call to minister to girls about purity, she connected me to the head of women's passion who did her senior project on purity rings. I went to the coffee shop with her and talked to her for an hour. When I got back to the dorm I saw that she had facebook friend requested me. While looking over her page I found a quote by Elisabeth and I liked it so much I made it my status. This status was seen by my dear friend Lauren who recommended the book and even loaned it to me. I purchased my own copy as soon as I got home and just finished it the other day.

I cannot begin to describe how much of a blessing this book has been in my life. I can't believe how much it has pertained to my current situation. Reading about the feelings Elisabeth had during this time in her life, and how she dealt with them had given me someone to connect to, in a way, since my own feelings have been so similar. It has made me feel less alone. It's one thing to read books by the Ludys who never seemed to talk much about their feelings but simply give a lot of great advice, it's another thing entirely to read a book that is as much about what it feels like as it is what one should do in certain situations. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the Ludys, and some of the reading I have done lately has convicted me even more of certain behaviors I've allowed to become habits, but sometimes you need to hear how it was not a walk in the park and the specific challenges that faced a person.


I guess what I want to end this post will is this verse:
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
                                                                                                              ~Jeremiah 29:11


I know that God has a plan for my life. It is always encouraging to see how He works things out in the most complex ways to bring about His will. My prayer is that I will always be open to His will and following what He wants, no matter the cost.