Seeking and Finding the Unexpected

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. --Jeremiah 29:13

Today I raided the supply closet at work in search of a notepad. Having spotted one on the top shelf, I reached for it. As I did, something on the shelf just beneath it caught my eye. Tucked into the corner, resting against the cold metal of the storage cabinet was a set of Schaeffer calligraphy pens. I pulled out the box for a closer look and smiled as I recognized it as the same set that my mom used for many years.

My mom has a beautiful talent for calligraphy. I remember watching her with fascination as a child while she punctured the ink well and assembled the pen with the appropriate nib for the project she was doing. Mostly I remember her addressing our family's Christmas cards--well, that and getting yelled at for bumping the table while she wrote. Having watched her address so many wedding invitations over the years, it was very meaningful and special to me when she addressed the envelopes for my wedding invitations. (I definitely didn't bump the table that time!)

As I thought about my mom and her calligraphy projects, I was reminded of the prevalence of God's handiwork. Just as my mom would always take that box of pens and ink out of the drawer every winter, so too is God consistent in his patterns of creating beauty. Every morning he crafts a new sunrise. Every autumn he paints the leaves with vibrant colors and changes their texture. He stirs the waters of the ocean to create high and low tides. I can't think of anywhere that I could go where I wouldn't see or experience at least some piece of our heavenly Father's skillful masterpieces.

Even in some of the most obscure places or situations I am given the opportunity to reflect on God's constant presence in my life. I especially enjoy when He causes me to think about Him at unexpected times. Finding that box of calligraphy pens today was just such an example. I didn't expect to be treated to a pleasant reminder of my mom and what a great woman she is all because I needed a new notepad. I love when God blesses me in little ways like that. I look forward to whatever else He might have for me to discover as I finish out my day.

Whether I am actively seeking or not, I am blessed to find God in unexpected ways. This happens when my heart is open to Him. I am always uplifted and inspired by those types of experiences. Today I started out seeking a notepad, but what I found was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on God.

Leaky Cisterns

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. --Jeremiah 2:13

Whenever I read some of the Old Testament accounts of the children of Israel, I shake my head in dismay. I pity their foolishness and scoff at their thick-headedness. Over and again they fall into the same pattern; they obey God for a period of time, but when that gets too difficult or boring, they decide to try things their own way. As they spend less time relying on God, they begin to fall on hard times. Realizing their miserable state and their need for God, they cry out to Him. God hears them, delivers them and blesses them, only to have them fall away once more. And on it goes...ad infinitum ad nauseum.

As I examine my own heart, I see that I too have behaved like the Old Testament Israelites. I have run to God and clung to Him in times of need, but then I complain about how He carries out His will in my life. The stronger my faith gets, the less I do this, but I know it takes work to repair my leaky cistern. Each time I have tried to go against God, I have been acting sinfully. Trying to live on anything other than the living water He offers is impossible.

The act of pulling away from God causes our cisterns to crack and the living water from God to leak out. Without this life source we have nothing to sustain ourselves during times of trial. When we stay away from God we run the risk of spiritual dehydration. Eventually, our souls become as dry as the desert and we cry out to God, begging Him for even one drop of that life-giving water we know He has for us.

God is merciful. He repairs our hearts and our cisterns, and fills them to overflowing, allowing us to drink in His satisfying love and forgiveness. If hunger is the best seasoning, then in a similar way, living water is all the more refreshing to a parched soul.

The One With the Plan

"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 hope and a future." --Jeremiah 29:11

A question that I found myself answering quite a bit in the last few months was "what are your plans for after graduation?" At this stage in life, that inquiry is just as common as asking a young child "what do you want to be when you grow up?" I am pleased that I had an answer to give in regards to my plans, since I had already landed a wonderful job, but what I've come to realize is that there is a distinct difference between my plan and God's plan. In fact, it's only been in the recent past that I have discovered that true fulfillment comes when I allow my plan to be shaped by God's.

This verse goes far deeper than merely letting us know that God has a plan. It assures us that within the plan there is hope. It is that hope that enables us to look forward to the days to come and know that our lives are not stagnant. Hope also brings with it the promise of better things, and releases us from fear of our own plans not working out. Although it does not relieve all uncertainty about the things to come, it does do quite a bit to decrease the amount of pressure we may put on ourselves to try to make things come together successfully.

God is in charge of not only providing us with a future, but carrying out the ways and means to get us to that future. When we are in tune with Him, our individual plans become the vehicle that can bring us to our destination in God's plan. God's will is not always easy to know, but it is important to remember that His will is a journey. I like knowing that God doesn't make all my decisions for me, but rather teaches me how to think so that I can make my own decisions.

Looking back I can see many examples of how God has shaped and reformulated my plans until they more closely matched His plan. There are times when I went off on my own path and disregarded what He was trying to show me. In the end, I always came back to Him and his plan.

God knows the plans He has for us. I praise Him for that, and I praise Him for unique paths that have brought me to the place I am now. By putting my life wholly in His hands, I make myself available for Him to show me more of His plan--one step at a time.