Singing My Way Through Write 28 Days
Day 2: Broken
“O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.” Psalm 40:5 (NLT)
Broken Road
“This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.”
Rascal Flatts
Have you ever thought about all the unfulfilled dreams, incomplete plans, prayers that weren’t answered as you wanted, twists, turns, and detours it has taken to get you to exactly where you are today?
Many of you know the “broken road” that led me to West Virginia. What you might not know, are the heartaches I experienced as part of the journey. Teaching jobs after teaching jobs were given to someone else and it left me feeling inadequate and like a failure. Loneliness set in as my friends one by one moved on in their lives while I was stuck where I was without them. (No cell phones back then) And maybe the most difficult for me was the realization that the man I hoped and prayed for wasn’t to be found so marriage and a family probably weren’t in the cards for me. I felt lost. But God knew right where I was and where I was going.
I had lost MY way, but soon found that step by step, I was traveling the route GOD was navigating:
~The “unexpected” introduction to a West Virginian visiting Michigan resulted in,
~An “out-of-the-blue” last minute phone call offering me a position for the job I longed to do,
~I had “just enough” money for my plane fare to a place I’d never even heard of, then
~The “last minute” change in plans effecting my lodging lead to,
~”A spur of the moment” offer of hospitality from a fellow teacher I didn’t know,
~Who “just so happened” to introduce me to her single farmer son and the rest my friends, is history. Coincidence? I think not!
In the span of little over a week, I had the job I’d hoped for, met colleagues I knew would become friends, found respite for my homesickness in the familiarity of a farm house, AND met my future mother-in-love and husband. It was “all part of a grander plan” that was coming true. I just didn’t know it at the time.
“We can make our plans, but the LORD determines out steps.”
Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)
I know you’ll find this hard to believe but I like to control things, for life to go as I want it to. And in the midst of all the discouragement and doubt, I couldn’t see that something much better was coming. Even now, knowing what I know from this experience and others, when faced with disappointment and pain, I still find myself vying for control, whining about where I am instead of trusting that God has a better path marked out. You too?
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
When God spoke these words so long ago, I think he was saying them to us, too. They are a promise to hold on to when everywhere we turn seems to be a dead end; a reminder that though to us the road may seem broken, He sees the completed Way, the One that leads us straight to Him, our future and our hope.
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I need this reminder daily! I too like to control things.
Oh Amy, from one control girl to another help! I’m so challenged and need daily reminders too! Glad to know I’m not alone! Thank you for taking time to comment. I appreciate it a lot.
Isn’t it amazing how God does His work in us, sometimes despite our best efforts to thwart this! 😉
Broken Road is one of my favourite songs!
Oh my goodness Corinne, isn’t that the truth! I’m a pretty good thwarter too! I appreciate you taking time to comment.
We also travelled what seemed like a broken road to arrive in Maryland, with one “coincidence” after another convincing us that God had a plan for us there. Knowing that story from my past has helped me to trust that God knows exactly what he is doing as he leads us down a different road now. Thanks for sharing this encouraging post!
I love to hear of other God stories in people’s lives! I am afraid I have to remind myself often to remember what He has done for me in the past because I’m quick to worry and become anxious. You are right tho, it does help to go back when trust is needed. Thank you so much for stopping in!