What’s next?

As I sat sipping my coffee, it seemed unreal that 15 years had passed since I’d moved to Atlanta when my children were little.  Over the years, Atlanta has been a great place to raise them for so many reasons.  As I think back, I can still remember when my son got on the school bus for the first time and waved goodbye as my daughter headed off for middle school. I never imagined the day would come when my son would graduate high school and wave goodbye again.  When people would tell me to cherish the time of their childhood because it goes so fast, I never realized just how fast it actually goes.

Fast forward fifteen years from the day I first got them settled into their new bedrooms to the day I’m actually packing up their rooms.  Wow!  I’m actually an empty nester.  No more planning meals for a family.  I eat whatever I have a taste for each day.  Not more running my kids around to lessons and events.  I plan according to my own calendar.  No more little league, junior choir, Halloween costumes, parent/teacher conferences, middle of the night blanket checks or event the sound of the front door opening followed by a hug and the one-word answer to “how was your day?” - “fine”.

Now I sit quietly in my morning prayer time with Jesus and simply ask, “What’s next?”  I want the big boom answer followed by an unexpected phone call or email that would make everything clear.  But instead, I hear the still, small voice saying, “Trust me.”  I chuckle to myself because I’d already known God wouldn’t give me the entire agenda.  That’s just never been how we roll.  He’d simply put a desire in my heart for the first step followed by grace and favor to reveal each step afterward.  More than anything, He wants me to trust Him with each step.  After all, if we knew the entire story, wouldn’t we find a way to manipulate it?  Wouldn’t we try to tell God how to best orchestrate the details?  Sure, He gave me a vision, yet He only told me to write it down so an angel may run with it.  (Habakkuk 2:2)  

So when folks ask me, “What’s next?” I simply tell them that I’m waiting for instructions for my next move.  Sure, I have a vision and I’m putting faith into action each day, but most importantly, I have trust in the One who holds the plan.  I trust Him to guide me in moving forward with each step, so that is what I'll do - trusts Him with “what’s next”.  If you have found yourself in this same place in a particular area of your life, simply ask God what to do next.  He may not reveal the entire plan, but trust Him with the next step.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, 

plans to give you a hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Love Always,

Shy

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