.. struck down, but not destroyed :)

so today I went back to my Condo and started packing .. going to move in a little over a week and it hit me when I was walking up the stairs...

six months ago I was busy getting ready to move into my new place... and even though some of the stuff that is making me move back now had already happened, I was excited and full of hope that in the end all would turn out as planned ..

truth is that it is all working out as planned... not as I planned it.... but still...

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. 

Proverbs 19:21

I had made good plans.. I had prayed about it and the reason to move there was to be wise with my money and adjust to changing circumstances.. an "empty nester" ( at least most of the time) didn't need a 3 bedroom house anymore.. or so I thought..

so. was this not God's plan? did I make a wrong choice? 

there is reason to think that because I am ending up where I started and I am kind of thankful for that.. ( weird, but that's how God can work when we fully surrender to His will... he turns what we didn't want into a blessing... mind boggling )

yet.. I don't think that my plans and decisions were wrong..

without having made those I would not have gone through the turmoil and the stress.. the upheaval and the fearful moments.. I would not have learned to rely on God in yet another area of my life... I would not have experienced Him taking my fear and giving me a peace that was SOOOO NICE and amazing... I still can't quite fathom it..

so I don't think that this was not God's plan... I believe as much as He is not the one creating the complications, He purposefully allows them.. out of His Goodness and Love... for those that love Him He will take all the puzzle pieces and turn them into a beautiful picture..

a picture of His love and provision, of His care and compassion.. of His might and splendour and majesty... 

I know Him more, I believe Him more and I am excited about what He is doing more.. I trust Him more, I rely on Him more and I worship Him more... I can share and relate to others more... and all of that because He, in His grace and mercy caught me when I was falling... again... He never leaves those that are His, He never forsakes us... He loved us enough to give His Son... will He not give us everything else we need??? I know He does... beyond a shadow of a doubt..

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 

2 Corinthians 4:7-9

AMEN