I woke up with this verse on my mind; Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young…For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men. Lamentations 3:23-33

Last night I walked for an hour and a half. For a good part of that walk I poured my heart out to Jesus. I thought about what I have been learning at church as we study I John. I thought about what we’ve been learning in Youth Group as we prepare for camp. I thought about how God is constantly reminding me to hold my tongue and practice patience at work. I thought about how restless I have become. There is something indescribable welling up in the pit of my stomach. At first it was irritating and uncomfortable. But today, it wasn’t, instead, I felt peace, for the first time in a long time. Once again I learned that God is faithful – I let go and let Him.

And, He filled my day with peace and laughter. I was able to catch up with two very special friends over the phone. Emails greeted me in my inbox and brought tears to my eyes. I finally put three long-awaited boxes in the mail – along with 6 over due letters. I was handed keys to a house to house-sit and to a club for which I am in charge of while the other manager is out of town. I have lunch-dates every day this week with people I care about and am always encouraged by.

I usually have an idea of how I would like God to provide and bless me. But He always seems to have something better in mind – He works outside my box.