I am a woman who spends too much time on Pinterest. If you’ve never been on the site before, you can scroll through millions of pictures of happy couples, perfectly put together houses, ideal classrooms (for the teacher in me), beautiful quotes, and fitness inspirations. You can then save these pictures to serve almost as a digital vision board- a map for a beautiful life.
As I was looking through the hundreds of pictures I saved over the years, I realized how many of them don’t actually represent my reality. I don’t have the outdoor pallet sofa for my house. I don’t even have my own apartment, let alone a house. I also haven’t created the DIY burlap Christmas tree lights or the crate stools for kids to sit at as we conference in my classroom. As I was looking at these pictures I’ve accumulated over the past five years, I realized that deciding to go on the World Race is one of the main reasons (aside from my low craft budget) that my life is looking distinctly different than my digital map.
As much as I still want the house decorated in too much yellow and shiplap, I have been feeling a shift in my wants since being accepted to the Race, and I attribute this shift to deepening my relationship with Jesus. The more I read about Jesus and the more time I spend with Him the more I realize that I truly worship a God that doesn’t “mess up”. Throughout the Bible, God meets people right where He plans (no matter how messy the situation may seem) and through these encounters He radically transforms lives.
It wasn’t a mistake that I felt a call to apply to the Race despite the huge financial mountain I would have to get over. It wasn’t a mistake that I was accepted, or that I will be leaving with a different route than my original. Jesus doesn’t mess up.
When I look through my digital map I am excited that my life looks nothing like it, because the plans God makes for us are so much greater and more beautiful than the ones we compile for ourselves. Years from now I’ll have a better view of the masterpiece he created from the ashes of the things I wanted years ago.
