This morning I got my butt out of bed at 4:30am and went to the gym. I swam 1000 meters with a group of people who have become a second family to me and who, for all intents and purposes, should not give a second thought to a 20-something barely scraping by to pay her bills. As I was half-way down a lap this morning, I was struck by how far from my plan it is.
Three years ago you could not have paid me to stick my face in the water. Around the same time, I moved to a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific ocean. It was either sink or swim at that point. I could have spent that year sitting on the sand watching the waves and nursing my fear of water. Instead, I took swimming lessons and signed up for a triathlon. I snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. I overcame my fear.
Two years ago I moved back to Southern Indiana after vowing I would NEVER come back. I had no idea why in the world God would ever call me back to a place I hated so much and had been the source of so much heartbreak. I clung to the verse that says “God’s ways are higher than man’s ways” and knew God, in all His sovereignty, had to have a plan. Around November of that year I got up at 5am and went to a spin class at the gym I has just joined. There I met a group of people who invited me in and after I proved to them I could get my butt out of bed every morning, treat me like family.
A little over a year ago, I met a boy on St. Patrick’s Day and didn’t think much of it. After all, I was here to get my degree and get the heck outta dodge. No way I was settling down here. And then I fell in love. I fell in love with someone who challenges me and supports me and cares for me more than I could ever imagine. He has let me pursue my schooling and shared me with my church, Myanmar, and the myriad of other things I commit to participating in. And at the end of the day, he will call just to say he loves me and is so proud of me.
As I finished my swim this morning, I was overwhelmed with the grace and sovereign plan of God. My life looks absolutely NOTHING like I thought it would three years ago. It is not the plan I had and it is not heading in the direction I thought it should. Thankfully, God stepped in and showed me that my plan was just that-my plan. Not His. And so lately, as life has been a bit overwhelming and stressful, I am constantly being reminded of the fact that God is in control and He holds my heart, my dreams and desires, and my needs in His hands. He knew all along I would find my home in Southern Indiana. He knew I would fall in love with a city that has so much potential, with a church that constantly pushes me, and with a man who reminds me everyday of how special I am and how truly blessed I am to live this life.
