We are facing them. You are too. Throughout our lives what to do and how to do it are questions frequently asked. There are so many decisions, from which school you want to go to, which subject to study, which university. Where to live, who to marry, what job offer to accept. Should we buy this or that, go here or there? The list of choices is multiple and the decisions seem endless.
Several years ago when Mike & I went overseas together for the very first time, in planning the trip, my days seemed not only filled with choices, but I also had to act on decisions. There was only one thing that made me feel at peace with what I was doing.
I would pray.
Hours and hours were spent surfing the net, planning a route, collaborating with Mike and Julian about where they wanted to go and what they wanted to see. Then I would look at a map, find options, compare flights with train fares, hotel costs and sight-seeing destinations. But all that looking and planning and thinking and talking wasn’t going to make the trip happen. Eventually, I had to book the tickets.
The afternoons were set aside for final and finer details. Often times, I would make a plan and put it on hold while I mulled it over and prayed about it. “Lord,” I would say, “here’s the thing, we are planning this trip that will cost a lot of money. We are arriving in Munich. Should we go directly to Italy or should we stop over in Austria? I’m sort of thinking going by train from Munich to Innsbrook. Please direct my path!” My prayers were practical and simple. I laid out my plans and asked God to protect me from the wrong ones.
Then I would decide it was time to ‘pull the trigger’ on the booking. I would select English on the Italian train site and I would book the train tickets. Months and months before the planned trip, I would have a ticket in my hand. I had to have faith to book those tickets. Many ‘what ifs’ went through my mind, but I had prayed and laid them all down before the Lord.
I comforted myself, “Lord, I’ve prayed about this – now I’m just trusting You.”
Again and again Proverbs 3:5-6 came back to me,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”
And He did.
We went and had a marvellous holiday. Mike was amazed at all the world had to offer. There’s nothing like the first time overseas. It’s such an eye-opener. Two years later, we planned another trip. Lowering my expectations that there would never be as great a holiday as the first, I set about planning the trip again.
Again, I prayed before each booking. I acknowledged God each step of the way and again, we had the most marvellous time.
We could not believe we had two amazing overseas trips.
God made our paths straight.
When I wasn’t sure about what was going on, I’d say, “Lord I prayed about this – You know about this” and I comforted myself that He did and that all will be well.
And it was.
Sometimes things do go wrong and we need time to pass to finally see them come right. The passing of time gives greater perspective to any issue. I can look back on my life and think about something difficult that happened – and even feel the pain of it – but there was no long term damage and things turned out okay in the end. It was horrible at the time, but God made my path straight.
It all turned out okay in the end.
So the next time you have a decision to make, PRAY and ask God to direct your path.
He will.
Keep the smile going!
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂