My very first blog post. This is definitely the unknown for me! It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there, share your work, your heart, and your life. I am glad to have you along on my journey as I began this new venture!

I know what it is like to look off into the distance and not see anything up ahead, to ask God "what's next?" and get no reply. It was hard having graduated and everyone asking where I was going to go, what I was going to do, and having no answer for them. My friends being able to say the college they are going to and the career they desired was hard to hear when I had no plans of my own. I didn't know I was going to finish a book, be able to go to a conference, and meet people that would help me reach my next step. I was planning on getting a job until I figured it out. Isn't God's plan so much better than ours?

Life is a journey, we all travel different paths, and I have learned some things along the way of mine that might be some help to you, no matter if you have reached your peak or if you are still climbing.


1. It is OKAY not to know.

God has a plan for each of us and there isn't a set time he is supposed to tell us what to do next. God doesn't follow the world's agenda, He has one of his own, and it is perfect. We think that everything has to be on a schedule. Well, guess what? It doesn't. You don't have to know what is next, all you have to know that he is God, and he knows what is next and will show you in his time.

2. Waiting is good for you.

Waiting is so hard for me, especially since I am one who likes spur of the moments and always having something to do. So when my life is mundane, I quickly lose sight of why I am where I am, and I began to look ahead. We need to be fruitful where ever we are. God has us here for a reason, and when he's ready and we look back, we will see what he did during that time, how he prepared us for the next step. Rest in the waiting, trust everything will come about when it is due.

3. There are hills and there are valleys.

We might be at the peak of happiness and all our desires fulfilled, but we will have to keep journeying to reach that next mountain. We must go back down before we can move to the next peak, the higher peak. I just made it atop of my peak last month, I finally reached the top of my mountain, but I am having to walk back down again to prepare for my next climb. The hills and valleys are just apart of life. To appreciate the peak you have to endure the climb.

4. God knows better than me.

I love plans as much as I love spur of the moment. I love to plan out trips, get-togethers, a way I can see dear friends that live so far away. Plans put me in control and I know what is going to happen, so too often I plan out my life just how I think it is going to go because I think I know best. God's ways are not our ways, and his plans are so much better than mine. I can plan out the best possible life for myself, but if I followed my plan,  I would miss all that God was trying to teach me on my journey, I would miss out on what was best for me. He can see the whole picture, we can't.

5. Prepare now.

If you are in that waiting period, prepare now. Prepare for the journey that is up ahead, learn to trust God with the things that don't make sense, with the pieces that are missing from the puzzle, the work that he is doing in you. Be still and know that He is God. His ways are not our ways, so a lot will not make sense at first, but soon you will begin to see the whole picture, and when you look back on that waiting period you will be thankful that you were patient until he showed you what was next.

The unknown is tough and can be so frustrating when it's foggy up ahead. But, when you are following the light of Christ he reveals things when they are ready to bloom, so stop and smell the roses. I needed this probably more than anyone. I hope somehow someway these words were able to help someone. We let life get too busy and forget that we need to be still, we need to be reminded that there are seasons of waiting and that that's okay.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."


~Madison Suzanne