A Thousand Tomorrows

Feeling profoundly blessed today.  And reflective...and content with life...and also, even more significantly: protected.  Cradled gently and lovingly in the massive, capable hands of my Father.

And I know that whatever happens to me today or tomorrow or in a thousand tomorrows, everything will turn out okay in the end.

Because my Father knows the plans He has for me.  And today, with the sun of His design bathing the floor of my little man-made corner of the world, my spirit cannot deny that His ways are greater than my own.  His plans for my hope, my prosperity, my future.  His plans.  Not mine.

When I turn off myself, let go of my own designs, and whole-heartedly trust in the perfect goodness of His plans for me, I find that what I really want is what He wants, and my plans and His plans become inexplicably one and the same.  I can trust Him.  My Father knows what is best for me.  He knows what is best for me.  HE KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR ME. 

And if I truly love my Father, which I do...
And if I truly desire to follow His will, which I do...
And if I truly want to grow and become like my Savior, which I do...
Then I can truly find joy and contentment and peace in every situation, knowing that He has already written the ending to my life story.

And I end up with Him.

I attended a funeral yesterday for the dear father and grandfather of people I love;  people that are bound together more by the Spirit than by the common blood that flows through our veins.  And when the sun made its glorious appearance through my windows this morning, I felt a sudden surge of joy for this man...a lover of Jesus...who lived out the number of his days under this sun, but woke up this morning in the radiance of the one and only Son.  Wow.

Someday, when all my work is done, I'll wake up in His presence, too. 

God has already written my story for me.  I know where I came from, I know where I'll end up, and I know where my first thirty-two years have taken me.  I can even look back and see His workmanship along the way.  Many things, though, remain a mystery, and that's both scary and exciting. 

Whatever lies ahead, I'm choosing to trust Him just like I trust that the sun will rise for a thousand tomorrows.  I'm blessed and thankful to be held in His hands; I'm safe, I'm loved, and I'm protected...and I couldn't ask for anything more. 

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

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10