Every single human on this planet has dreams and plans. We make them from the time we are little to the time when we are planning out our lives and careers in high school and college to when we are older dreaming about what we will do when we retire. We all do it, but sometimes things don't go as planned. Dreams shatter. People you trusted turn out to be someone who you would've sworn they would never be. A person you loved walks out. Relationships fail. Promises are broken. That dream college didn't accept you. You end up hating the college or profession you thought you would love. You unexpectedly get pregnant. You can't find a job in the field that you got your degree in. You lose all of your money. You become addicted to something you never thought would have a hold on you. You find out that you or a loved one has a life threatening illness. Life happens and it shatters those dreams and plans into tiny pieces. When this happens we are left with a mess and in excruciating pain and confusion wondering where to go from here. How does we pick up the pieces? How is it possible to cope? Will the pain ever go away?

Here's the thing with plans and dreams that we create throughout life: they are not set in stone. They haven't happened when we make them and there is no promise that they will happen. My mom once told me that when we make dreams and plans we need to write in pencil, not ink, because they change and need to be erased. I agree wholeheartedly. Think about it: if we were left with our own fate would we really get what is best out of life and live to our full potential? If we were allowed to set our dreams and plans in stone, would they really turn out and would we truly live happily ever after riding off into the sunset?

Luckily we are not left with our own fate. We have options. As humans we can do two things: we can follow God's plan for our lives, or because He gives us a free will, we can go off and try to accomplish our own plans and dreams. Here's some things to think about though before you make a choice:

1. Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'"

If the creator of the universe, who intricately created each one of us, and knows our inner most being and thoughts better than we even do made plans for us, why would we not want to follow those plans? Also, He plainly is telling us here that those plans are not to hurt us, but for our best. God knows us each so well and, unlike us, knows what is going to happen in the future and what would benefit us most. He does everything for our protection and benefit, so why would we not want those plans?

2. Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."

God has a purpose for each of us. He created us each with specific talents, traits, strengths, and weaknesses that will help us carry out what we were designed to do. This verse states that will we can make all the plans we want, in the end that purpose and plan God has for us will be what triumphs.

3. Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at wok within us"

God can do things we cannot even dream about. He can plan our future and carry out those plans He has made because He is powerfully at work within us and has in store things so much better than we could ever think or imagine. Simply put: He's a better planner than us.

I know it's extremely difficult to have your dreams shattered. I've been there and I'm actually currently going through it. It's painful. Here's the thing though, God is the ultimate planner. He's the author of each of our stories and will make something out of this mess we are currently calling life. If we try to go against His will and word, I can guarantee it will end in disaster. He's our hope and will sustain each of us to carry out His will and plan for our lives and it will be better than we could have ever imagined or dreamed. My current prayer for each individual and myself suffering through broken dreams and promises is Psalm 143:10: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. If we are seeking His will for our lives, He will lead us on level ground even when we encounter the hardest paths. There is hope even in the darkest of days.