Whatever Circumstance

I'm in a slightly philosophical mood today.

Blame the virus that led to sick kids that led to me having over ten hours today to entertain myself while they watch cartoons...

OR blame the *many* cups of coffee I've consumed over the past few hours in an attempt to not fall asleep on the job.

OR the fact that I'm being "still" and I just don't do this stillness thing well.

... Whatever suits your fancy.

Never-the-less... I have time and thoughts.

...................... (no good transition ideas... deal with it.)

Over the past few weeks I've had the opportunity to catch up with several college friends.

And I've been thinking recently how fascinating it is that all my friends and myself, are WHERE we are, doing WHAT we are doing.

If I could go back five years and talk to all my friends about where we thought we'd be in the fall of 2012, there is NO way any one of us would be right. Maybe a few good guesses here-and-there, but nothing truly accurate. (In fact I think it is safe to say that we'd be incredibly wrong...)

Five years ago we were all COFC girls, living in or around Society Street, going to class, dating boys, working random jobs, laughing a lot, crying some too... etc. etc. etc.

And here we all are;  many recently married, many in new cities, many figuring out what is next in life, many learning new things about ourselves and God, many living a life we wouldn't have guessed and trying to figure it out along the way.

Lots of adventures, lots of variety, lots of obstacles, lots of questions... and very little in common with one another any more, other than our love for God and for one another.

In a given day, one of us may be working a twelve hour shift at the hospital, one on a first date, one exploring a new city, one decorating a new apartment, one enjoying her husband home from deployment... and so on.

I suppose my point in saying all this, is that we are all clearly on VERY different paths, going VERY different places... and I find it fascinating.

Why am I nannying in Hawaii while another friend starts nursing school in Charleston??

Such different lives we live, and none of us really certain what lies ahead.

But I can't help but think that there truly is a plan in the madness, and this plan is good. "This plan" is full of ups and downs, different for every one of us, includes times of struggle and times of rest, and a has a billion different details that play out over time. 

Praise God for His design for our lives; though not always pleasant... rarely boring:) Praise Him for His promises that sustain us in various seasons. Praise Him for having a path for us, even when we can't see it or don't understand it. Praise Him for loving us in the midst of it all, wherever we are and whatever we might be doing.

With that I'll conclude with a quote from the devotional My Utmost for His Highest:

"... remember that whatever your circumstances may be, you have been placed in them by God. And God uses the reaction of your life to your circumstances to fulfill His purpose, as long as you continue to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7)."