Stefanie Lynn
Lord, What are Your Plans?
”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 (NIV)
One of the most utilized verses at graduation, Jeremiah 29:11 contains promises we need to claim as we seek God’s direction for life. As a woman in her fourth decade, I’d love to share a coffee shop table and tell you: God DOES know the plans He has for you. He DOES want to give you hope, and a future. I graduated from college, married, with an eight-month-old daughter. I was a nurse, and worked weekends at a hospital to solidify my skills. After two years, I quit my job to stay home full-time. I utilized this time to read Christian parenting books, do Bible studies, and develop home-making skills. Three years later my husband went to graduate school full-time and we had daughter number two. I went back to nursing in a rehabilitation center full-time. After he graduated and began his first job, I once again stayed home. My husband traveled every week, and after much prayer, I jumped into homeschooling to help facilitate more family time when he was around.
Three years later he switched jobs and was home every night. We began launching daughters into public school mid-elementary. As the last entered school, God put me in there too! Through a series of events, He guided me to become a public school teacher for STEM education utilizing my nursing degree. I had the same hours as my kids, and I now truly understood their world.
I never could have envisioned all those moves on my college graduation day. Yet, He did. Every seemingly obscure position I took, led me to where I am today. More importantly, did my hope and faith grow along with my age and career? Absolutely! Jeremiah 29:11 is not about worldly success. God may gift financial gain or an illustrious career. But I think it's’ about developing a hope in Him. A trust that He has even this. No matter what! He knows the plans He has to get us there, to the place of developing that type of faith in Him.To all my sisters in faith starting out, know this: God has you. He knows the plans He has for you. He knows how you will draw nearer to Him. You don’t need to have your life mapped out. Plan how to pursue Him instead. The rest will fall into place.
