The Adventures of Dan and Lori Continue

God works in mysterious ways.

Ya think?

I sure wonder sometimes what He’s up to and what His whacky timing is all about.

Well, whacky from my limited perspective.

As a little girl, I pictured myself older, married, surrounded by a dozen children, living in a colonial-style house enclosed in a white picket fence relatively close to extended family and the friends I grew up with.

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHH-

Oh, excuse me.

What I meant to say is…

Life didn’t quite turn out that way.

God did give me a spectacular husband, who I count as my absolute best friend. I am so blessed in that regard.

As for the rest of the vision, um… not a bit of it.

No children.

No house.

Nowhere near family or the friends I went to school with.

I’ve heard this story before from others –

Expecting career – get baby.

Expecting baby – get fertility issues.

Expecting happy marriage – get messy divorce.

Expecting sport scholarship – get career-ending injury.

Expecting clean bill of health – get bad report.

On and on…

Of course, the unexpected isn’t always devastating or disappointing. Blessings surprise us from time to time too.

The point is, we can make as many plans as we want, and we can have high expectations, but I think it’s safe to say, all of us experience something that doesn’t quite fit into our plans.

The great thing about this is that God is sovereign.

His plans are perfect, and He is not blind to anything.

Trusting in Him is worthwhile and the only sure thing we have to depend on.

Life hasn’t been bad for me because it didn’t turn out the way I’d imagined. It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been blessed beyond measure. It’s been more than an adventure.

Yes, I could be sad or bitter or mad or rebellious or sarcastic about the things I feel like I’m missing.

But being thankful for the things I never would have known without the changes He made to life schedule is much more beneficial.

So, it is with that in mind that I embrace our next adventure… another move.

My Daniel and I become Texans once again and for the third time!

Sure, I hope that Texans we will remain… for a little while at least. But if God has different plans, I’ll need to follow with reckless abandon.

For now, though, off we go. I say with pride – HOOK ‘EM HORNS!!!!

(photos by photobucket.com)