women's weekend.

This past weekend, I was part of a women’s retreat at my dear friend’s lake home. It was such a special time. My friend, Samantha, told me a few months ago that she wanted to do this. She wanted to bring together a group of women from many different walks of life to gather in the name of Christ. I love my friend Sam, she is so full of joy and love. Every now and then, she'd reach out to me to bounce ideas of and think through different aspects of the retreat. In the months leading up to this weekend, many plans that fell through - some even the week of. Not only did this create frustration, but also it created fear. But through that, we were both able to learn about God. During our frustration, a verse came to mind. Isaiah 55:8-9, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

How awesome is that. No matter what we think is the greatest plan, God, the author of creation, has something even grander planned for us. This is so hard for me to wrap my brain around. I love to plan my life out, so for this change of mindset to happen - I have to really engage in the trust I have for the Lord. So many times in this process did we think we have everything figured out, just for something to fall through. But let me tell you, this weekend had connections that we could have never seen coming. Women at the retreat were going through some of the same struggles. Some of the same topics were brought up every night, but by people who weren’t there the previous night. How could Sam and I have ever planned that? God is the AUTHOR OF CREATION. Why do we doubt his ability to plan our lives? This weekend was full of laughter, vulnerability, and God-led conversations. Nothing that Sam and I discussed on our own could have turned out half as great as what God had in store for this weekend. When will we learn that this is the case in every aspect of our lives?

God, the author of creation, has something grander planned for us.