Why? Because I can.
Why? Because I have a really believable fake I.D.
....
Haha, kidding. It's because I turned 18.
And let me tell you my birthday was the bomb diggety! I had a surprise visit from my parents, was introduced on the Missouri House Floor, and was surprised with cake at TWO restaurants. And that's just the summary.
But these things didn't all happen on a whim. They were perfectly coordinated by none other than my amazing boss and close friend Jessica.
See Jessica's one of those people who is really into surprises, so she gets kind of excited about birthdays. In fact, she even TOLD me she had big plans for my birthday. And I was super stoked to hear that.
Because Jess knows me really well. She knows the kind of things I'm into, things that are really exciting to me and stuff I'll be blessed with. She knows the kind of surprises that will embarrass me, the ones that will make me laugh, and the type that will touch me so much that I will cry. And she also knows how to coordinate.
So I wasn't nervous when she told me she was doing stuff for my birthday. I was actually pretty pumped.
Scene Switch.
Earlier this week I ran into something from my past that shook me up a bit. It was a rough experience and not something I was planning on having to deal with.
But the situation came up. And yes, tears started to roll down.
I won't go into detail, but I was a mess.
And I was also really confused. I didn't understand why I was having to go through this pain again, when it didn't seem like anything productive was going to come out of it. Nothing changed, except that I wasn't feeling okay anymore.
After an hour of crying, a phone call to a friend, and a few screaming fits, I finally put my car in drive and went home.
Make-up came off, pajamas went on, and I pulled out my 40 Days devotional book. (Again, shout out to the Douglas's, this book is amazing.)
The theme for that day was "I Am With You". Yeah, okay. I get that. I knew God was with me earlier that night. And while it was a comfort, I still wasn't exactly thrilled to have to go through that experience.
But as I read through the devo, I started marking the page up with my blue marker. Because some things stood out.
"I know precisely what you need to draw nearer to Me....Accept every event as My hand-tailored provision for you needs....find Me in every situation."
Accept every event?
Well, God must have meant every event besides this one. Because this one hurt. Bad.
But the more I thought, the more I was humbled and I realized every event means just that. Without exceptions. Every. Event.
And that's when I started thinking about Jessica and my birthday surprises. Because I know the outcome of my life is a surprise that God is coordinating. And just like I trusted Jess with planning my birthday, I need to trust God with the outcome of my life.
And every event that leads to it.
Because God knows me really well. He knows the kind of things I'm into, things that are really exciting to me and stuff I'll be blessed with. He knows the kind of surprises that will embarrass me, the ones that will make me laugh, and the type that will touch me so much that I will cry. And He also knows how to coordinate.
See, I trust Jessica, I knew she was going to make my birthday special.
And I think I need to start realizing that God is that exact same way. I can trust Him to orchestrate every event-every event- into His big plan. His surprise.
Which doesn't exactly make the rough times fun, but it makes me want to act a whole lot more joyful during them.
Maybe He's using my painful event to get my attention. Maybe it's supposed to draw me closer to Him. Maybe it's to help the other people involved. Or maybe it's something that me, on my level, can't understand. Because I'm not God.
I think sometimes, when these things happen to use, we tend to forget just how massive God is. We've placed in him our own definitions, our own limitations, and really kind of belittled Him.
I know this video really put things in perspective for me. I know it's an extra link to click on, but seriously, watch it. It's humbling.
http://youtu.be/qnrJVTSYLr8
Now I'm not saying every situation is God designed. My friend Jessica (Not birthday-Jessica, bookwriting-Jessica) once said a very true, very serious statement. "God can upon doors. But Satan can too."
But regardless of who opened the door, we are supposed to find God in every situation. And just as importantly, act as God would want us too.
Because, if God did design the situation, we can't risk acting the wrong way and losing an opportunity.
If Satan plotted it out, we can't risk acting the wrong way and fulfilling his plan.
I want to end with a text I literally just got, as I was writing this post. My friend Collin and I were talking about being a witness for Christ, by the way you live your life. He sent me this:
Every action made is either a positive or negative toward a persons witness. There is no neutral.
Live without pretense. Love. Drink more water. Relax, trust Him. Act as Him.
A.Diez
