Our Plan or God's Plan?

I was doing some reflecting and thinking this morning on a few things, and my husband and I's relocation to another state came to mind. If you don't know the story, we got married and about 7 months later, I was pregnant with our son. We lived in Maryland at the time, and it was just us - no family. We agreed (before we were even expecting) that the best thing would be to move closer to our family so that when we do have a child, we would have help. Because, you know, it takes a village. As much as I loved Maryland, something in my spirit was telling me it was time to go. And I couldn't ignore it. 

Fast-forward a few years, our son is now 3 years old, and what my husband and I learned is that God had a completely different reason for us to move closer. Both sides of our families have had loss and health issues that we needed to be here for. We both lost our maternal grandmothers, we had sick family members. And in my case, being closer was so helpful because I was able to help my sister get to chemo appointments and spend time with her when she was battling cancer. I got to be present to see my Grandmom many times during her last days as her fight with dementia came to an end. I am not sure I would have been able to do either - definitely not in that capacity - if we hadn't moved. God knew what was ahead even when we didn't, and He used what He could show us (our pregnancy plans) to get us to where He needed us to be. God also knew I'd be dealing with postpartum that first year and how badly I would need my mom and sister during that time. And all the people He has placed into my life since being here have been pivotal in the improvement to my state of wellness today.

I wanted to share this experience as an example that even when things don't seem to go according to OUR plan, or OUR plan looks just a little different than what we expected, God has an even greater one. Prior to any decisions, big or small, pray and ask God to lead you. I do that a lot. I did that in this case - and He led me to be where I needed to be when it mattered most. When things seem off-track, pray and keep asking God to lead you. And if it still seems off-track, still trust Him. You will be led to the right place at the right time. 

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