I snapped this photo during a walk on Palm Sunday in April, 2020. We certainly could not have predicted the road ahead at that time but this vine hanging over our path gave me hope.
In today’s passage, the following caught my attention:
“Even when we don’t know where the path leads, we know who leads us.”
Trusting God to lead the way, yet not knowing where to? That’s a tall order.
How do we follow with no certainty of the path ahead.?
Truthfully, I find it pretty simple to advise others to “trust, have faith, know that God has everything under control”. But how does that reality play out in my own life?
One thing is certain…(like many of my crochet or knitting projects), I’m a work in progress.
Oftentimes my “trust” comes when I’m at a loss for clarity.
When I just have absolutely no idea what God is thinking or what he wants from me.
What should I say to support those I love?
How should I respond to a comment or situation that is not in line with my own expectations?
Why am I feeling ill equipped?
Why am I in this situation if I don’t know how to help?
Is all of that uncertainty really part of His plan?
Truth is…when I’m feeling lost or unsure in my own life, it’s then that I realize just how difficult it can be to “trust and have faith”.
I want to fix things, I want to make everything better myself, I don’t want to wait and see. I like things to go according to a plan, my plan. And I’m not great when those plans go off track.
I alway say, everything happens for a reason; and I truly believe that except when what happens does not fit neatly into my vision.
So what is God trying to teach me in those moments? And why? Can I really feel peace in surrendering control? Could it be as simple as remembering He is with me?
“St. Augustine reminds us that Christ is both the goal and the path: we follow Jesus in order to arrive at Jesus. Lent gives us the space to take stock of what we’d been following instead – fear, reputation, self-will – and make a new decision.”
This lent, I pray for the courage to follow Him, wherever He leads. And for the humility to confess what I’ve been “following instead”.
