His plans

Jeremiah 29:11: The comfort I have found in what has become one of my favorite bible verses for years is Jeremiah 29:11. When I felt loss: Jeremiah 29:11. When I was scared: Jeremiah 29:11. When I was sad: Jeremiah 29:11. When I was confused: Jeremiah 29:11. When I needed comfort for fears, worry, and anxiety: Jeremiah 29:11. When I needed motivation: Jeremiah 29:11. When I went from married wife, nice salary, living in a beautiful home with a vehicle to drive, to all alone, jobless, car taken away, and moving into my parents' home: Jeremiah 29:11. Moving to a different state to start over. A diagnosis that would affect my fertility in the future. Moving home back to my parents' yet again, because starting over didn't work out like I had hoped, searching for a career, working two jobs, a back surgery, a third neice being born, brain surgery for my neice, contemplating a second back surgery, a job offer, loss of loved ones, prayers for friends.... The list goes on and on, but the "back bone" of my life has been Jeremiah 29:11 "The plans I have for you, declares The Lord..." I've lost count how many times have I comforted someone with the same verse that has encouraged and given me strength all these years. And yet, tonight, when that feeling "of being kicked right in the center of my "gut", I completely abandoned the promise of Jeremiah 29:11. I went straight from "His plan" to "That is not what I had in mind! No way God wants this"! My selfish heart said "He took away this (blank), but gave me this (blank)". "SO SURELY, HE WOULDN'T take away that too!!!" 

I wrote this a few nights ago. It took today, sitting in church being reminded of Job. The sermon was about John, but God knew that I needed to remember Job. It was less than a month ago that I was sharing Job's story with a friend. Her loss is huge, and one night my eyes found a devotional sharing Job's strength. I couldn't "not tell" her about what I had read. This morning when I heard the preacher mention Job in his sermon about John, that was God, very clearly speaking to "ME" his daughter. He took away (blank), and even if he takes away (blank), I will serve and I will praise. If God strips everything good from my life, I pray to be like Job and follow, love, and never doubt his plan!!