Sometimes Medicine is Hard to Swallow

...He knew that which didn't look like anything good might yield good, all in the hand of a good God.

To bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving means to sacrifice your understanding of what is beneficial and thank God for everything because He is benevolent.

A sacrifice of thanks lays down our perspective and raises hands in praise--always.

A sacrifice is by definition not an easy thing.

There is this:

We give thanks to God not because of how we feel--but because of Who He is.

-Ann Voskamp

About three years ago, I prayed a prayer full of hope.

And right now, I can't say that my prayer has been answered.

However, I know one thing:  God works in ways so different from anything the human brain can conjure up...so different from anything we imagine in our wildest, most insane dreams.

So though my specific prayer hasn't been fulfilled, who am I to say that that's a bad thing?  Who am I to judge what is good and what is bad?  I, from my mere, earthly perspective, have no knowledge of what is good or bad in the grand scheme of things.

In times when things don't turn out the way we hoped, our only job is to be thankful--to bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving--not because of our circumstances, but because we have a GOOD God.

Gratitude is a sacrifice at times.  I don't want to be thankful when things don't go my way.  I want to be a brat about it and throw a temper tantrum until I get what I want.

But the funny thing is, in the past, I've always ended up being so incredibly glad that my plans fell through. 

I'm learning (and it's one of the hardest lessons) that God's plan is always better.  

And even when the current situation sucks, all.is.grace.

All is grace.  What a standard to measure life by.

Sometimes the medicine you need the most is the medicine that's hardest to swallow.

Providence is the Name of the Game

It is a fact of life that on this Earth, you will face trial after trial after trial.  You will be hit by many disappointments.  You will be burned by people you trusted.

But what I'm learning is that God usually prepares us for these situations.
Today, I am praising God for two truths He made sure to place in my life yesterday:

1) Heaven filled me with more than enough.


2) The things of earth will grow dim in the light of his glory and grace.

Waiting: A Big Theme Right Now

He said that they believe when a lot of things start going wrong all at once, it is to protect something big and lovely that is trying to get itself born--and that this something needs for you to be distracted so that it can be born as perfectly as possible.

-Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies

Exactly one month ago, I wrote about how God has ordained for me a season of waiting.  I'm still there, but there are also some things that I can see God's hand moving in.  It's getting crazy.  And I don't know why I always sound so surprised about this, but it's awesome how God's plan is legitimately so.much.better. than mine.  It blows my mind.  I think about how things are happening...and then I think about how they would have turned out with my original plan and I just feel so...stupid.  My plan would have sucked, honestly-- I would have been so unhappy...I would not have been at peace.  For instance, I thought for a period of time that I needed to be a media studies major.  Because even though I adore the religious studies program, who can actually get a job with that?  So I applied to media studies.  I made my plan for my media studies future.  And then I didn't get accepted to media studies.

THANK GOD I didn't get into media studies.

As of last Thursday, I am officially a religious studies major. After two academic years of freaking out and changing my mind about my major, I'm so happy.  I'm so at peace.  I'm so excited.  I know, without a doubt, that this is right.  I had to wait.  But it was beyond worth it.

Same goes with my summer plans.  Everything finally came together so neatly.  I didn't get the first internship I applied to.  But the second one?  It's perfect.  I already love the people I'll be working with and I can't wait to spend the summer getting to know them and their business better.  *More details to come soon*
And my living arrangements seem to have been put together by God himself.  Which is such a silly statement because, obviously, everything is being put together by God himself.   And even though I get frustrated and impatient, it always turns out so stinkin' well.

God is so good at what he does...like for real.