greener grass and lessons learned

It’s so ironic how things happen in life that you most certainly would not have written into your specific story. Great relationships. And not so great breakups. Conversations. Moments of perfect worship to your Savior. A friendship that has lasted (through thick and thin) for fifteen years. A friendship that ended too quickly. The death of a loved one. Marriages. Births. Moments of weakness. Moments of success. Moments of complete bliss and those you’d rather not live through again. No matter what the situation – both good and bad – if you really sit and look back at the moments of your life, you probably wouldn’t have planned them out for yourself. Of course, you would hope for some of the great moments, and you probably would have rather not had to go through some of the not so great moments, but if long ago someone handed you a piece of paper asking you to write out the specific moments you wanted to live through – you probably wouldn’t come close to dreaming up and writing down the things you’ve actually experienced.







Then there are those times when you look around your life, at the lives of others and their experiences, and wish that you could’ve experienced something similar to theirs, or perhaps you’d like to trade lives with them because they seem to just slide through life with no real difficult life problem or huge issue (according to your view of it). Or maybe their love life seems perfect, or their relationship with their family/siblings/friends seems so endearing, or maybe they experienced something magical or have a great talent that you’d love to write into your life. Or maybe their road to success seemed simple, or maybe their life at 24 is exactly where, if asked to write it out at 18, you would’ve written your life to be. Maybe their skin is flawless or their size 4 figure is something you secretly covet, or you wish you had an older brother or twin or ….and the list could go on and on and on.






All that to say, there are certain things that God forms into our life story that we could never create for ourselves quite in the way that He does. And there are certain things in which we think would be great for our life, or things that we get angry because we had to experience it, that God, in His infinite wisdom, shows us (sometimes we don’t realize until years later) that He added it into our story for a reason. And sometimes when we look at the horizon and the path seems to go in a direction that doesn’t seem right to us – His plan is perfect.






I was reading in Exodus the other day where Moses is taking the people from Egypt. Basically (and you should all go read it in chapter 13) God lead the people a different way (a longer and more difficult way – the wilderness) instead of straight through to where they needed to go. He took them through the wilderness and to the Red Sea (where He split the water and they walked through on dry land) …and I can just imagine their thoughts when traveling and their conversations with Moses. I imagine them pointing out that the other way was easier and faster; that they were tired and worn out and ready to get to a settled place, and going around the city was absolutely ridiculous. And then, when walking upon the Red Sea, shouting out complaints because now they were at an obstacle, and if they would’ve just gone the other way, they wouldn’t have to face this now. And Blah. Blah. Blah.






Anyway, the Lord (and Moses because of the Lord) looked at the situation in a completely different light. The Lord knew that if they walked through the city, the people would’ve seen the war, changed their minds, and turned back to Egypt. He knew that their human nature would take over and the idea that they knew best would overrule, and the road to freedom from Pharaoh would be backtracked.


Isn’t that how our lives are today (sometimes)? We walk through life, pointing out, that certain ways would be easier, faster, more efficient (in our minds) and that we could really learn a lot from going this certain way. In fact, we try, at times, to convince God that going through a certain obstacle isn’t something we really need right now, and that we’d really appreciate it, if we could try a different path. Or, maybe we really enjoy the way the Lord is taking us right now – maybe there isn’t anything we’d like to change and so we simply remind the Lord that we really like our life (and the amazing blessings He is placing there at the moment), and that we’d kindly appreciate if He could keep us going down this road. What we fail to realize, is that the Lord looks at the situation in a completely different light. He knows us. He knows that if we walk through a certain way, perhaps, that we would experience something and run – or experience something, love it, soak in it, and want to stay. What I think is so incredible about His plan, is that He knows where Lindsey needs to go. He knows what I need to experience and what I don’t. He knows the lessons that I need to learn, the ones I’ll struggle with learning, the ones I’ll pick up easily, and that some will take a little longer for me to grasp than others. He knows that sometimes, I need to be taken around the city, instead of through it, because – while I am trusting Him and following His guide, I might see war (or something great) and run back to where I came from (or want to stay). I believe wholeheartedly that God thought out each plan, individually, perfectly for our lives, and that He creates the paths specifically for each person. I believe that some people have to walk through the valleys because He wants them to truly be grateful for the mountain view. Maybe I need to experience struggle with obstacle A, while someone else doesn’t. Or that maybe I don’t need encouragement through blessing Q but someone else does.






Just as the people following Moses’ lead had no idea why they had to go around the city (and didn’t know that the great miracle of the Red Sea was coming), we sometimes don’t see beyond the horizon to the beautiful fullness that lies over the hill. Hmmm..how beautiful to know, that His plan is perfect, His ways are wise, and His footsteps are always leading in the right direction.






:)