Faith is a choice. God has been so patient with me. From time-to-time I get ahead of myself and think everything has to happen on my time. I can plan and pray and wait and nothing….often, I don’t even know the how of what I want from my life. That’s okay though, because I have learned that God knows the how and the why and the when! When I am looking around waiting for my plans and dreams to come to fruition, I simply step back, take a deep breath and give it to God.

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1

When I doubt that I am on the right path, I simply give it to God. I tell Him that I know He has a plan and that I know when the time is right, He will direct me along the path He has planned. I have experienced this over and over and over. You would think I would learn by now 😉

Here’s the thing, I have hopes and plans and dreams for my future. I know that God has even GREATER hopes and plans and dreams in store. My job is to Love God, with all my heart, with all my being, with all my strength, and with all my mind, and to Love my neighbors as myself. That’s it. This does NOT mean I can sit back and wait for God to bless me. I go along living my life on purpose, serving God, sharing His love with others. Doing what I can every day to spread the good news to others.

For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope. Jeremiah 29:11

I have had some pretty grand plans and desires over the years and a few times I have thought that I knew what God wanted for me. You know what?!? I was wrong, shhhh don’t tell my kids or my husband. I think I have finally learned though. I simply pray for God’s will to be done in my life, I pray that I will make the choices every day to DO HIS WILL, to live according to what is right and just.

It may have taken me some time, okay…A LOOOOOONG TIME to figure this out. I’ve got it now. Well, today I do. When I can’t seem to see the way or what the lesson or plan is, I just let God show me in HIS TIME. When something I had prayed for doesn’t come to be, I know that it is because He has something better just around the corner.

I shared this little tip with a friend that I care deeply for when he received bad news. News that the plans he had made weren’t going to happen. It derailed him, he was distraught. Angry even. I have been there and isn’t it right that I help someone else stay on the path God has planned for them? I will be praying for my friend and his young family. I know that his plans didn’t happen because God has much GREATER plans in store. I’ve lived it.

As we go through our faith journey, let us each take the time to reach out to others and ask them to join us. Let us share the lessons we have learned along the way, invite others to pray with us and offer to pray for them. Imagine, every day, growing God’s Kingdom and reaching out to others. What if when we were struggling instead of pretending to have it all together, we allow ourselves to share our vulnerability and what if we were to reach out to a friend in faith and ask them to pray with us, for us. Imagine God’s Kingdom growing and growing and growing. This is God’s plan for each of us. Will you make the choice today?

Blessings!

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Traci Runge

Traci was born and raised in San Diego and has called Kearney, Nebraska home for the past 18 years. She is married to Darby Runge and together they have 6 children. They own and operate Pro-Tint, a window tinting business. Along with being a full-time mom, Traci is also a Manager and Certified Trainer with SendOutCards, she works with businesses and individuals to build relationships and grow their income through Relationship Marketing. Traci works hard to balance her roles of mother, wife and business owner. She strives to help make the world a better place through kindness and love and leading by example. Traci is committed to her family, church and community and can often be found volunteering in some capacity. www.sendoutcards.com/tracirunge

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