Hello Ever Be Beauties! Today I’m talking about letting go!! Lately, God has been laying it on my heart to let go of my own plans, agenda, and deadlines. For too long I’ve seen life as a ticking time clock and wanted to live life on a set calendar. As you can see in my title picture, I’m sitting in a pile of leaves that have fallen off of a tree. It’s fall y’all, and I’m inspired to let go, just as the trees let go of their leaves! It’s time to focus on living in the now, having hopeful expectation for the future, and growing as we go!
For so long, I have made my own plans, it’s a human thing. I met with God at the table with my agenda, a clock, and a calendar. Most of my life, I’ve been worried about not having enough time to accomplish what I want to, I worried I was running out of time and youth. I came to the Lord with a lot of deadlines, and not a lot of faith. The other day I was listening to a sermon that said, “It’s like we write up the field trip form and want God to sign off on it.” We want the Lord’s “ok” on OUR plan. It should be the other way around, shouldn’t it?
Over the course of my life I have always rushed things because I felt that, if it didn’t happen now, then it would simply be too late. Hastening life was a talent of mine because, much like everyone does, I wanted to skip to the good parts of life, where I had what I wanted. My life looked like a timeline in my eyes, that is, until the Lord wrecked my plans for the better and I let Him have control.
It sees like I always wanted to be at a specific place in life, doing a specific thing, at a specific time (Oh and I would also plan the outfit I’d wear while doing alllllll those things, lol). I saw myself living here, going to school there, being with them, at this certain time. You want to know something people? I’m not going to a school I planned on going to. I’m not with the person I always thought I’d end up with. I’m friends with people I never thought I’d meet. I’m working at a place I never expected to be working. I’m unsure of what life will look like after graduation. I’m 20 years old, and let me just tell you, 20 years old is looking a lot different than I ever thought or imagined it would!
That last paragraph sounds like my life has been an unexpected mess, but guess what?? I’m happier where I am than I ever would have been if my plans had gone the way I thought they would! If all these decisions had been up to me, I would’ve been in a much different place at a very different time. Thank God the Lord didn’t let me have what I thought I wanted! Sometimes I look around at where I am and I actually think to myself, “how did I ever end up here?”
Maybe you’re someone like me. You’re someone who feels like life is going to pass you by, you’re worried it won’t happen soon enough, you’re fearful of uncertainty. Stop. God has your timeline figured out already. You’ll end up where you’re supposed to be. Everything you’re meant to have will come to pass in due time. There’s no need to fear the unknown, God is waiting for you there, sweet friend. Let go of control and let God have His way!
Through all of this, I’ve found that there is so much joy in awaiting the things to come. Walking closely with the Lord has given me such a hopeful expectation of the unknown future. The other day I was talking with my Jesus-loving friends about life and I said, “there’s a difference between anxious anticipation and hopeful expectation.” Let me grace you with a couple of definitions.
Anxious: experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.
Anticipation: the action of anticipating something; expectation or prediction.
When we walk with God, we don’t have to worry about absolutely anything, even the unseen future ahead of us. We don’t have to expect disappointment, or predict humanly possible outcomes. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want what is humanly possible, I want the God of the impossible to be in control of my life.
Hopeful: feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event.
Expectation: a strong belief that something will happen, or be the case in the future.
With God we have hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11 says so). We can be certain of this, He has good things prepared for us in the future, if we seek after His heart and put Him first. We can strongly believe and know that the Lord our God will surely make whatever “it” is happen, in His time and in His miraculous way.
I no longer live by what I see, I walk by faith. I walk with my loving father wherever he leads. With the Lord guiding me, I don’t have to lean on my own understanding! Whoa, wait!! I just said something there! We don’t have to understand. I can hear your inner thoughts saying, “hahaha Hannah, you don’t understand, I have to understand before I can move forward. I’m a planner.” Well here’s the thing, you’re going to be standing in that same place for a really long time, if that’s the case. We won’t always understand why we are where we are, or why things are going the way they are!! Instead of looking at that as a disappointment, think of it for what it actually is, freedom. You’re literally free from having to understand, or worry yourself to death, trying to make sense of things!!
I want to encourage you to let go of your plans!!! Live today, don’t worry about tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year!!! As you walk from your door to the bathroom, from your car to your workplace, from your first class to your second class, the Lord is walking with you every single step. Don’t get ahead of yourself or God. Take time to appreciate where you are and what God is doing right NOW! Don’t miss it by trying to run from point A to point B! There’s a reason for the journey, there’s a reason for the wait. Use your time wisely.
Love & Blessings,
Hannah