Sarah D. Shearer

I’ve been doing a lot of reminiscing lately. Now that I’m married it feels like I’ve been married forever and it’s hard to imagine life before my darling husband. Nonetheless, we both lived a lot of life before each other, and all seasons of life have purpose.

I remember many people telling me, “once you stop wanting it, it will happen.”

Yeah, fat chance on that happening.

Every new social situation I entered was a screening process. Any prospects here?

At no point during my singleness did I ever give up on the idea that I would one day get married even when it looked really really bleak.

I think sometimes we confuse surrendering and giving up. 

I have a dream I want right now, and it’s not happening on my timeline. I don’t think the answer is to stop wanting it either. I think the answer is to surrender it to a loving father who has better plans for me than I do for myself.

Instead, what we so often do, when things don’t happen when and how we think they should, we get frustrated and the dream we’ve been holding so closely we throw on the ground and say “fine! I give up! I guess it’s never going to happen!” And the walls of our hearts climb to the highest heights, and the vines grow angrily around every vulnerable part of us and we assume that God is withholding from us, because why else wouldn’t we have it by now?

Lord, teach us to surrender to you. You are good and perfect and you’re writing a good story with our lives. Rather than give up on the things we desire (I think you have given us these desires!) Let us place our dreams in your hands and trust your timeline.

Let’s stop throwing away our dreams and pitching tents in the land of jealousy. Throwing away our dreams doesn’t look like being quiet either. It looks like making comments about other people who have what we want, it looks like saying negative things about ourselves and assuming it’s never going to happen.

I have been challenged though, so I challenge you.

Do you believe God is good? If so, he can only do good. So whatever is happening in your life is for his good and according to his purpose, if your trust is in him.

Get to know him for who he really is. Learn his character and personality and you will find that he is the most loving father you’ll ever encounter and he is writing your story with great care and tenderness.

It may not be happening how or when you think it should, but it’s still a good story.