“Build the life you really want, one heartfelt choice at a time.” (Gretchen Rubin)When you build something whether it be a simple wooden box, a shed, or a house, you draw up plans, gather the materials and go for it. The outcome of what you have is dependent upon your plans, the type of materials, your skill level and your tenacity to finish the job. One thing certain is that you must have a picture in your mind of what the end result should be.
Many times we go through our lives without this master plan. What do we really want the outcome to be? What do we want our life to look like? What skills do we have? What new skills do we need to learn? Sometimes life throws us a curveball and our plans are waylaid. Maybe the building takes a different turn.
Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Verse 9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” It’s the mixture of how we want our life to look, matched up to the plans the Lord has for us.
Perhaps sometimes we have this huge “mansion” in our mind that we want to build, maybe we only have enough “building materials” to build a very small “house.” After we complete our “small house” we realize that this is all we ever really wanted. I think sometimes we miss out on life because we are so concerned about accomplishing this “thing” that we fail to realize the joy along the way and that we are living the life we really want.
Perhaps we have gotten locked into someone else’s dream for our lives. Perhaps we have forgotten how to dream, how to build.
I think deep inside, we each know what makes our heart tick. Sometimes we get off track because of life, our circumstances, our season that we’re in.
Sometimes I think we have this specific goal in mind that we often times miss out on where we are in the journey today.
It’s a mix…make your plans and actuate them…but realize that many times God will cause them to take a turn in a direction that we would never have thought.
Live your life the way that makes your heart sing and be open to the movement of God. Trust that he knows you better than you know yourself.
