Last night, in a post barre-fitness class endorphin haze, I leisurely strolled through the isles of a local grocery shop. It wasn't until a neighboring customer approached me in front of the coffee creamer selection to comment that, "they're all bad for you," that I snapped out of the daze. I realized, as I was standing there, appearing to be contemplating which coffee creamer to purchase, I was actually in deep debate over much more meaningful matters. I also then remembered that I usually drink my coffee black, anyway. 

It seems like these days we are flooded with more decisions to make than ever, because we have more options than ever. From which products to buy to which foods to eat, from how we spend our free time to the music we listen to, from which job to take to which city to live in, and from who we befriend to who we marry. The list goes on and on. I wonder if our brains were even ever wired to work this way, deciding among a surplus of options each and every day.

Recently, a friend told me that her husband was offered a new job in a new city. They had already moved only a few short months ago, they have a two year old, and a relocation would be a big move for them if he accepts. I think in situations like these, those "big life" changes, it is often too easy to say, "Oh, do what makes you happy!" or to bluntly weigh the pros and cons. Of course, we should take somewhat of a practical approach to making big decisions... but some other part of me is always seeking something more. When faced with a big decision, I find that I look for inexplainable signs, small coincidences, and impossible to ignore recurrences to shed some light upon the path of the right direction to take.

Of course, many would argue that those coincidences are just that- purely coincidences of chance, and certainly not some divine message. But in my life, I have seen and felt too many of these remarkable synchronicities to not pay attention. I also know, though, that whatever we believe we are being led to do, God's word through scripture is the determining filter.

I desperately want to follow God's will in and through my life. While His word doesn't always give us the specifics as to what to do or where to go, I know that as long as I am earnestly and fullheartedly seeking His will and pursuing His glory, I will be nourished with the peace of knowing that He is in control of my circumstances, in the end. It is in that promise that every tough decision is made pliable.

 Earlier this week, I had two concepts that were weighing on my heart. I had full intentions of posting them here today. I had pre-jotted them out in my journal, backed them up with scripture, and even had quotes from other authors to elaborate. However, as I opened up my laptop and started typing, I felt a tug to share a different experience instead. 

Sometimes in life, this change in direction happens on a larger scale. We come into situations and circumstances, fully prepared with talking points and intentions, cozy on our shores, and then we  find ourselves in the midst of it all, completely out at sea.

We find that we have drifted away from our plans and comfort zones, and while it can seem overwhelming, often, it is okay. Sometimes, even, it is better than okay.
Often, it is part of God's plan, even when we don't understand.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts."
​Isaiah 55:9

As we live out our lives seeking God's will for us, we often find ourselves pleasantly surprised by what God has in store for us.

At this very moment, here I sit in a hotel room by the ocean shore, contemplating what God has ahead of me. Over the past year or so of my life, God has been pressing into my heart a vision for my future and guiding my paths.  As the year has gone on, I feel myself approaching closer and closer to the materialization of these things- things I have been praying for and desiring in my heart for many months before. And that, my friends, is terrifying! 

This morning, I prepared for the beloved Devoted women's conference. As we are all encouraged to do, I came with expectation: the expectation to hear a new revelation from God. As I drove here bright and early on this windy March morning, I could feel my own insecurities pushing me to ask God to reveal that perhaps my current path was wrong. Surely, I thought I had misheard his direction and was making a mistake. Surely, He has something different in store for me; something less abundant, because that would be much less intimidating.

But this afternoon, as I was gathered with hundreds of women in God's house, I felt God again and again telling me quite the opposite. My heart was convicted and convinced that everything I have been believing God for IS in fact happening in my life and that I am in deed on the right path, walking with God, and fulfilling his purposes and plans for my life.