Embracing God's Plan

A few years ago my husband received a letter in the mail from a cousin and his wife. They explained in the letter how their daughter of 17 had left home. She ran away in the middle of the night and after a few hours of searching was found at a friends house, but refused to come back home with them. In secret she had already arranged for her grandparents, from another state, to pick her up and take her to live with them. All of this came as a huge shock and their story was heartbreaking. They were devastated at the loss of their daughter, confused by the circumstances, and felt helpless in their effort to mend their relationship with her.

That same weekend I was reminded of a passage in Joel 2 where Joel was describing the horrible effects of the locust plague. The locusts had covered the land and devoured the crops. There was nothing left to eat or any way to replant what had been taken. The situation looked hopeless.

Then God began to speak by saying: "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten....You will have plenty to eat, until you are full" (Joel 2:25-26)

This passage offered so much hope for our family and their circumstance. None of us know how long their relationship will be severed by the hurts that they have all experienced, but when healing does come, God is able to restore it and bless it with something greater than what they had before.

If God can take a huge devastation, as we saw Him do in Joel and turn it around to a time of plenty, He can do the same in our lives, in our relationships, and in our marriages. He is a Specialist at making something useful and beautiful out of something broken and confused. 

The truth is - marriage is the union of  two broken people. Neither of us is perfect, and for that reason, our marriage will never be perfect. The best thing we can do is lay aside the false picture of perfection we created and embrace Gods plan. I am positive that it is greater and more beautiful than anything we could make or dream on our own. In the process He will continue to bring oneness, despite our brokenness.

Blessings,

Angie