Here I was seeing this path illuminate at my feet; I desired it so much! When all of a sudden, the path I was walking took a sharp turn... The path now before me was not as desirable as it had once been before. I stopped in my tracks, fighting the urge to turn around. I take a few more hesitant steps... Still upset about the change in direction. It was then that I was positioned at the fork in the road... it was now my time to choose. Would I trust God and continue down this path that now didn't appear to be the path that I had originally wanted or planned for or would I choose the other path? This other path was overgrown, unclear, and not marked.... God's path was dark as farrrrr as I could see but my feet were lit with light. All I knew was right at my feet.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Sometimes on our paths to our "Happily Ever After" we face twists and turns that throw us for loops and sometimes get us so twisted up that we fall flat on our backs. I love how Elder Dieter Uchtdorf beautifully describes it,"[God] has granted you this earthly life as a precious gift of "Once upon a time..." Complete with your own true story of adventure, trial, and opportunities for greatness, nobility, courage, and love."
How amazing is that?? Every single day you are living out your story... each choice you make is being etched on the pages of your eternity and ultimately YOU decide the kind of ending you will write for yourself. In moments like the one depicted above, the Lord will lead you by the hand and give you opportunities to choose in order to live the life you want! He will test your faith by not allowing you to have a perfect knowledge of the future, to see if you will still choose him and still trust him. One of the most humbling lessons I have learned in the last few years (and continue to learn daily) is submitting my will to God's.... Admitting that I don't know as much as I think I do... and yielding to the plans the Lord has for my life.
The following scripture is one of those scriptures that hit me to the core and humbled me when I needed it:
Jacob 5:22
"And the Lord of the vineyard said unto [me]: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit."
Through the words of this scripture the Lord reminded me exactly who He is.... Who am I to give counsel to the one who holds me in His hands? Who knows exactly who I am... He knows my strengths, my weaknesses, my every flaw and failure.. The one who knows my heart so throughly that He knows every choice I will ever make...
I mean... who reading this, could ever imagine coming face to face with the Lord and saying,
"Hey...it's me... yeah. So, I hate to intrude on your plans and all... But I just wanted to point out that this spot you put me in [in life], is not a good one. I know. I know. It's okay... I understand. But now that you understand the mistake you made, will you please put me in a better place?"
No way. That sounds ridiculous right?? Haha! Then why do so many of us pray like this or question God in our circumstances? Just as He said in that scripture....
"I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; ..."
He goes on to say...
"...I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit."
No matter where you may be on your path... whether it's a patch of plenty or a poor spot.... Never forget that there is a purpose in every place. I know without any doubt in my heart that the Lord can do a lot with a little and no matter your spot He can make something beautiful even when there appears to be no way or hope. Our job is not to tell the Lord how we think our life should be... but to faithfully obey, diligently serve, and humbly submit to whatever the Lord sees fit to put us through. Faith is seeing that little bit of light at our feet and choosing to walk down that path that seems dark anyway with the Lord as our guiding light.
Psalm 119:105
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
If you are following that path guided by light and feel that you don't see the glow as bright as before... I PROMISE YOU... if you will consistently hold true to the simple acts of reading and pondering the scriptures, genuinely praying and speaking to God, and actively trying to live a life following the pattern of Christ's life... You will have the aid of heavenly beings to help strengthen and uphold you. You'll have peace to endure even when you don't always feel motivated to persevere. You may not continually feel joyful through the whole trial but you can lean on the promise that you will have joy when all is said and done.
You will never fail as long as you keep trying. "Losing Faith" doesn't come from questioning and seeking for answers... You begin to lose faith when you stop doing the simple things that help it to grow and demand answers from God without doing the work it takes to hear his response! Continue praying for the desires of your heart because that is important to the Lord, He always hears you and He will provide what you need. But never question where He puts you in order to help you gain what you've prayed for... Faith fulfills what the desirer hopes for. Now the choice is yours.... where do you find yourself on this path? Based on your choices, how will your story continue to be written?
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