God Knows Why

In thinking about what to write about today, my mind keeps turning back to a year ago.

A year ago, our life looked so different. Our life was filled with chaos yet the joy and hope of possibly having two children of our own. As I was running today, I was reflecting on where God has taken us. I honestly still have a hard time comprehending everything that has happened in the past year. Today though, I kept coming back to gratitude. Gratitude for the difficult times. Gratitude for the journey. Gratitude for where God has us now. It is NO mistake that we are in Minnesota.

This past weekend was just wonderful. We spent Saturday out on one of our favorite lakes fishing (it was a GORGEOUS day here in Minnesota!) and then at night we decided to venture out to the fair. As we started to drive to Willmar, we realized we had no clue where it even was! Thankfully there were many people heading there (since we knew the general area) and followed people in. Then Sunday was just such a wonderful time of worship and then we spent the afternoon/evening with an absolutely amazing family from church. We were so blessed by them and encouraged by their faith. Coming off a weekend like that and realizing that God made no mistake by bringing us here, brings comfort and healing when we look back at a year ago.

A year ago today, I did a post called “God Never Says ‘Now What.'” As I was reading through that post, it brought tears to my eyes as I remembered why I found those words so comforting. We were experiencing much resistance and the idea of Dan being fired was still hanging over our heads. We were praying with such anticipation for our two little ones that were soon to be, yet the pain that went along with that whole process, was so hard to understand. Yet in the midst of the struggles, God knew EXACTLY what was going on. God never said “now what.”

Here is what I wrote a year ago:
Everything happens for a reason. That is such a cliche saying, yet isn’t it so
true? In my Christian faith, the sovereignty of God, I hold onto very
passionately and humbly. To know that God is the holder of all things, the
Creator of all things, and the knower of all things, is mind-boggling at times,
yet a tremendous comfort. Everything DOES happen for a reason.

It was a rough weekend, but one filled with the NEED for faith and hope. As hard as it is
sometimes to have even more faith, how desperately Dan and I want that need to
be drawn from within us. Our goal in this WHOLE process, is to give God glory,
to be instruments in advancing His kingdom, and to honor and obey Him in every
action and word. Even though hard times continue to come, I am reminded of God’s
grace in giving us continuing support. Today I was talking to my mom (who always
has such wisdom – as well as my dad). After letting it all out to her, she told
me she once heard from somewhere that “God never says ‘well, now what?’ God is
never surprised.” I cannot even begin to tell you how comforting those words
were. As she told them to me, I could only breath out a sigh while saying “yes.”
It was a breath of relief. A breath in recognizing that I am not in control,
while everything seems out of control. God knew precisely what was going to
happen. How we would take it. Never once did God say “well, didn’t expect that –
not sure what to do next.” God has ALL the answers. It all went according to His
plan and life will continue to go according to His plan.

Did you ever think about the fact that NOTHING surprises God? Then why do I act so surprised
when something unexpected happens? Well, it’s because we don’t see the future.
If we did see the future, there again, would be no need for FAITH.

God knows every detail of our future, though we don’t even know what tomorrow will
look like. What a comfort. It is a comfort knowing God uses parents to encourage
us. Parents who pray, and pray, and pray continuously. Parents who offer their
unconditional love daily. Why is it that sometimes talking with a parent just
makes the world that much more manageable? Parents are subtle reminders of God’s
love for us. They are a reminder of what the love of our Heavenly Father has for us.

GOD NEVER SAYS “NOW WHAT?”
I look at our life today. We still live in awe of where God has taken us – we still wonder some of the whys in life – but yet God has NEVER said “now what?” God knows why we are here in Minnesota. We also know too – but we do not know the full reasons – He is revealing those to us daily. What peace it gives us to know that God is continuing to show us why – this weekend was a reminder why. We have peace here. God is bringing healing in our lives through us being here. God has given us such encouragement through others. God is daily giving us glimpses as to why.

We praise Him.
We thank Him.
We give Him the glory.

We know that our story is not complete. This is just the beginning of a new chapter. A new chapter in the story God has already written for us. And trust me, we wait in faith, knowing God’s plans will come to fruition and that His plans are perfect – He is not caught saying “now what?”