Thursday, June 6, 2024

In January I took a leap leaving a job of 19 years; the only one I’ve known in my adult life. I felt blessed where I was. Coworkers that mentored me to grow professionally, cared on a personal level, and a job that not only challenged me mentally, but provided for my family. It felt risky to leave a job I planned to retire from and that I still enjoyed most of the time for the unknown. However, I felt God prompting me to trust Him. Shortly after I decided to take the new job opportunity that found me, a friend reached out and said she was hearing Proverbs 19:21 for me.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”

Since starting my new job there have been challenges and struggles, but I feel a peace knowing I’m where God intends for me to be right now professionally. Trusting God’s purpose has reduced the stress I carry over from work projects into my personal life. All of this at a time I never saw coming 6 months ago where I would need to pull close and be more present for my family.

What does this have to do with the upcoming mission trip? I am being reminded of Proverbs 19:21. When Libbe first reached out to see if our family would be interested in doing a mission trip, I figured it wouldn’t work out with our summer baseball schedule. Taking a long shot, I asked our oldest if he’d go with me. I thought it would be a great experience for us to share and an amazing opportunity for Avery to grow spiritually through serving and meeting new people with unique stories. Yet, here I am struggling with my own demons after falling short as a mother and a friend. As we sit days out from leaving, I now think Avery’s willingness to miss some baseball games and giving me an unexpected “yes” is what I didn’t know I would need. A reminder that God can use me where I’m at, even if I fall short in areas of my life. While my plans to take this trip had good intentions for how this might impact Avery, or the benefit of the shared experience, I find myself seeing more in that this experience might help dig myself out of my own head and insecurities.

I’m looking forward to seeing the Lord’s purpose play out in each of us on this trip, even if it is not exactly what we had planned.

~Lindsay Reiser