The vacation that came and went, and when the answer is "No"
Alas, the end of March, bringing you all another lunch-break blog post. Two in a month! I think I'm finally back on track :)
Earlier this month my family and I were on vacation. Kelly and I flew down, first to West Palm Beach, FL, and then out of Orlando, and joined my folks, where we spent the next four days enjoying some spring training baseball games, beach time, good food, and most importantly, each other. It was the first time either of us (my sister and I) had taken a not-in-Kentucky vacation since 2009. We've taken some day/weekend trips in Kentucky since being on our own, which is about all we can manage given our work time and general life schedules. But we're fortunate, nonetheless, to be able to travel. I genuinely love traveling. I relish in getting lost in a new place, or reliving a familiar place over and over again, all with people you cherish the most. I've decided that when I get married, our honeymoon will be somewhere neither of us have ever been. Some of my fondest childhood memories are the many family vacations we were so blessed to be able to go on, from our 2002 cross-country excursion to the annual North Myrtle Beach pilgrimage and numerous others in between. I'm blessed to have been brought up by parents who understood and appreciated the value of seeing our country and making memories together, as a family.
Anyway, even though our most recent vacation was only a few days, it was much-needed and much-enjoyed. I've yet to experience a full five-day, in-office work week since returning on the 16th, but that's just how it works (Good Friday last week and going out of town tomorrow for a workshop- more to come on that later in the week, hopefully!).
But later last week, as I was doing some devotional reading, I was dealt a lesson in answered prayers. I do strongly believe that God answers prayer. In fact, if you ask me how I can prove that, the answer is that, honestly, I can't. But I personally can pinpoint to specific instances in my life that are a direct result of answered prayer. Anyway, it sort of dawned on me that sometimes we are so convinced that when we receive something, it's from God. And while it very well may be, at least in this particular situation I was reflecting on, things didn't go as I'd hoped, and it left me very hurt and broken for a while. But at the same time, as I was reading, I realized that when God told me "No", it was because He was preparing me for something better. We don't often see it that way in the moment, because we're in the midst of pain and inner turmoil, but when we are able to look back and recognize that God truly does desire the absolute best for us...geesh, to me, it's like a relief.
It then got me to thinking about other situations in my life in which I was convinced that I was living out God's plan for me...and I just wasn't. One in particular; I was working at what I believed, when I was first hired on, was "my dream job": in my field, good pay, at a reputable institution. But, for reasons I won't get into, it was, and ended up, not working out (I go into it more in earlier posts, so if you're really curious...). I was so disappointed as this realization was unfolding: Why couldn't I just stick it out? What was I doing wrong? Why was I so unhappy, even though I was working in my field? But now that I am where I am, again, it's because something better was on the horizon. I just had to trust!
I really encourage any of you who might be going through dark times, uncertainty, hardships, struggling for whatever reason, to just trust: trust the journey, trust those who are walking alongside you, trust the fact that bad times cannot and do not last forever. There is hope.
Obligatory end-of-the-post shout-out: Did you find a dog yet?! :D
P.S. I had a really great Easter, you guys, and I really hope you did too! Spending the holiday weekend with my wonderful friends, sister and boyfriend was just what I needed to get this week started off on the right track. Been feeling very blessed lately. God is good!
Have a great week everyone!
Earlier this month my family and I were on vacation. Kelly and I flew down, first to West Palm Beach, FL, and then out of Orlando, and joined my folks, where we spent the next four days enjoying some spring training baseball games, beach time, good food, and most importantly, each other. It was the first time either of us (my sister and I) had taken a not-in-Kentucky vacation since 2009. We've taken some day/weekend trips in Kentucky since being on our own, which is about all we can manage given our work time and general life schedules. But we're fortunate, nonetheless, to be able to travel. I genuinely love traveling. I relish in getting lost in a new place, or reliving a familiar place over and over again, all with people you cherish the most. I've decided that when I get married, our honeymoon will be somewhere neither of us have ever been. Some of my fondest childhood memories are the many family vacations we were so blessed to be able to go on, from our 2002 cross-country excursion to the annual North Myrtle Beach pilgrimage and numerous others in between. I'm blessed to have been brought up by parents who understood and appreciated the value of seeing our country and making memories together, as a family.
Anyway, even though our most recent vacation was only a few days, it was much-needed and much-enjoyed. I've yet to experience a full five-day, in-office work week since returning on the 16th, but that's just how it works (Good Friday last week and going out of town tomorrow for a workshop- more to come on that later in the week, hopefully!).
But later last week, as I was doing some devotional reading, I was dealt a lesson in answered prayers. I do strongly believe that God answers prayer. In fact, if you ask me how I can prove that, the answer is that, honestly, I can't. But I personally can pinpoint to specific instances in my life that are a direct result of answered prayer. Anyway, it sort of dawned on me that sometimes we are so convinced that when we receive something, it's from God. And while it very well may be, at least in this particular situation I was reflecting on, things didn't go as I'd hoped, and it left me very hurt and broken for a while. But at the same time, as I was reading, I realized that when God told me "No", it was because He was preparing me for something better. We don't often see it that way in the moment, because we're in the midst of pain and inner turmoil, but when we are able to look back and recognize that God truly does desire the absolute best for us...geesh, to me, it's like a relief.
It then got me to thinking about other situations in my life in which I was convinced that I was living out God's plan for me...and I just wasn't. One in particular; I was working at what I believed, when I was first hired on, was "my dream job": in my field, good pay, at a reputable institution. But, for reasons I won't get into, it was, and ended up, not working out (I go into it more in earlier posts, so if you're really curious...). I was so disappointed as this realization was unfolding: Why couldn't I just stick it out? What was I doing wrong? Why was I so unhappy, even though I was working in my field? But now that I am where I am, again, it's because something better was on the horizon. I just had to trust!
I really encourage any of you who might be going through dark times, uncertainty, hardships, struggling for whatever reason, to just trust: trust the journey, trust those who are walking alongside you, trust the fact that bad times cannot and do not last forever. There is hope.
Obligatory end-of-the-post shout-out: Did you find a dog yet?! :D
P.S. I had a really great Easter, you guys, and I really hope you did too! Spending the holiday weekend with my wonderful friends, sister and boyfriend was just what I needed to get this week started off on the right track. Been feeling very blessed lately. God is good!
Have a great week everyone!
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