Growing up I loved to play dominos with my grandmother. I could sit at her kitchen table playing train for hours on end. After several rounds as we prepared to put them away, I loved to try to line the dominos up in a pattern and watch them fall. Something about the cascading line of dominos mesmerized me; the way they toppled over each other in a series of organized chaos. Falling at just the right time, landing in just the right places but with clatter that is more often accompanied by a disastrous mess.
In the aftermath of training camp, the Lord has laid on my heart the power and importance of reflection. As I have attempted to process my life over the last couple of years I cannot quite seem to shake this thought of dominos. What a beautiful thing it is to sit with our Father and let Him to reveal to you the way the He has allowed just the right dominos to fall at just the right times in your life. The way that He has turned hardships into joys, mourning into rejoicing, crying into laughter. To see that what seemed chaotic was all part of a divine plan.
You see friends, there was a point in my life where the Saturday after Thanksgiving was going to be my wedding day. I was going to wake up with a tummy full of butterflies, put on a pretty white dress, walk down an aisle and say yes to doing life forever with a man who I thought was perfect for me. God had other plans. What was once my planned wedding day turned into a typical work day. I woke up, dawned my navy scrubs and drove to the hospital. As I auscultated lung sounds, passed medications and discussed treatment options with doctors I could not help but think how differently my day could have been.
The heartbreak that came with ending a relationship that I thought was forever has led to me being able to say yes to an adventure of a lifetime. If you had told me in June how the Lord was going to transform my pain into the joy I feel now, I would have never believed you. If you would have told me that I would be spending my time preparing to travel the world rather than adjusting to life as a wife, I would have laughed at you. God set my dominos up to fall in this manner.
If I may elaborate. I went to a college that I did not want to attend in the town that I have spent my life saying I couldn’t wait to leave. There I met some of my closest friends and received an amazing education. As time came to accept a job offer I turned down what I thought was my dream job to stay in this same town, largely for this man that I thought I was going to marry. Choosing to stay allowed me to care for my grandmother as she passed, be home with my family when my father passed and be home as my brother struggled with health issues. I met my ex-fiancé in this same town. God placed him in my life as my family entered a period of trials and tribulations. The God took my ex out of my life at a time where I fully believe He is calling me to deeper intimacy with Him.
THAT IS UNREAL YOU GUYS. These simple yes and no answers have led to such incredible things. These chaotic/hard/messy times have all been transformed into a beautiful line of dominos laid out perfectly. Why? Because we serve a God who carefully and intricately knits our lives together. Who guides us in just the right direction, at just the right time. A God who not only walks through life with us but goes before us and prepares our way. What great comfort. What great joy. What great freedom.
I do not know what you have been walking through. I do not know if you are in a season of great joy or great sorrow. I do know that no matter what has been unfolding in your life, you will be blessed if you allow yourself a time to pause a reflect. A time to look back on the events of your life and allow the Lord to show you the ways that He has been moved. He is in the major life events and in the minute details. My prayer for you as I write this blog is that you crawl into our Father’s lap and allow Him to reveal to you the domino effect that has unfolded in your life. I pray that you are blessed by it.
All my love,
Bekah
