Sunday, June 8, 2014

June Hope Chest- Hope Leads You to Where You Need to Be by Jennifer Searls



 Jeremiah 29:11- "I know the plans I have for you said the Lord.  Plans to prosper you, not to harm you.  Plans to give you a hope and a future." 

This verse is a verse I often repeat to myself.  My uncle sent it to me when I had just graduated from college.  I was at a crossroads in my life, as many are at such a time.

We spend so much of our lives in the same routine beginning when we are five and starting Kindergarten.  Same thing every year.  Get up and go to school until summer and then get up and do it all over again the next year.  Transitioning from high school to college is a bit of an adjustment, but it is still the same.  Classes and friends.  In my case- a lot of fun.  

Then it ends.  

You graduate and the rest of your life begins.  What?  No promise of the same routine.  

The summer before my junior year, my parents moved to West Virginia.  I continued my education in Connecticut.  My senior year brought some strife between me and my best friend.  It’s a long story, but it involved a guy.  

After I graduated, I left all of my friends and moved to West Virginia with my family.  No friends, no boyfriend, no job and no prospects for the future and I felt lost.

That’s when my uncle sent me this verse.  I wrote it down and hung it on my wall beside my bed so I could be reminded that God did have a future for me.  

He knew how badly I wanted to meet someone I could share my life with.  

He knew how badly I needed friends. 

He knew I needed to find a job that I would find fulfilling.

 I prayed for these things and had hope that they would come my way in His time. 

We often don't want to wait for His time because we have our own timeline.  I know I certainly did.  But, I am also a firm believer in everything happening for a reason and sometimes those reasons aren't visible until later on in life. 

I see it all clearly now, and that verse of hope helped me get through it.  

God had a plan for me.  

Thank goodness my parents moved to West Virginia.  I eventually landed a job at an advertising agency.  There, I met a woman who introduced me to the man who is now my husband.  I also met a girl who continues to be one of my best friends.  It also got me involved in a church where the members would become my family after my parents made yet another move to Ohio.  People I still keep in touch with today; Kim McClure included.  

This church taught me the lesson of forgiveness that allowed me to get back in touch with my best friend.  I am now the godmother to her oldest son and it as if no time has passed.  That story of forgiveness has helped lead others to forgive and renew relationships. 


So, there I was in a new state without anything familiar and no hope of anything new -only to have it bring me to the life I am living today.  

None of it would have happened had my parents not made that move.  My life would be completely different and I cannot imagine my life being different. 

The hope that God gave me through that verse helped me get out of my depression. It helped me get on my feet and try new things and be led to where I needed to be led.  I am not one who loves change, but knowing that my heavenly Father has plans to prosper me and has plans to give me hope and a future makes change a little easier to deal with.  


If you are ever at a crossroads and wondering what the heck is going on in your life- repeat this verse to yourself and know it will all work out in the end because your Father wants to see you succeed and has brought you down the road you are on for a reason.  Just know that God has your back.  He has a purpose even when you can’t see it. 



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