the map.

I'm a planner.

You probably could have guessed that from just reading this blog.

I like to know what's coming.

Or, more accurately:

I like to plan what's coming.

I like to be in charge.

So on Sunday, when our class began to talk about our life's plans and whether or not God had changed them, I had to laugh.

Change them?

I think He started from scratch.

We talked about how some of life's greatest blessings come out of sadness.

Hurt.

Disappointment.

Frustrations.

No-good-really-bad days.

I couldn't agree more.

And as I look over my life's original plan

I realize that God's is better.

Even though I don't always understand it

Even though I'm not where I thought I'd be

Even though it sometimes hurts

Father knows best.

Because if my life had gone according to my plan,

I would have gone to Nashville, Tennessee for school.

Interned at Southern Living.

Secured a job as a magazine writer in the big city of my dreams.

Earned a master's degree.

Remained unmarried until at least 25.

Traveled the world.

And lived happily ever after.

Instead, I went to school in Montgomery, Alabama.

Met my best friend.

Interned at Coastal Living.

Moved back home.

Found a satisfactory job in communications.

Married my best friend.

And remained in my hometown. A place I didn't think I'd come back to for a while.

All because:

I didn't get the ACT score I wanted.

Massive layoffs occurred right as my internship was ending. (In other words, journalism died, and with it, all job opportunities.)

Jordan moved to Macon for law school.

I couldn't find a job I loved.

So here I am.

Right where God wants me to be.

I serve a God who honors my dreams

My ambitions

My goals

But I also serve a God who knows significantly more than I do

So here I am.

Finding my place on a new map.

A map He created for me.

From scratch.

*Food for thought: what does your life's map look like? Was it what you originally planned? How did God change your plans for the better?