"God doesn't give you what you want, he gives you what you need."
If you were to ask me about the greatest lesson I've ever learned, the above sentence would be my answer.
I am a self-proclaimed perfectionist, planner, and all around worrier. I get anxiety from the smallest of things– especially when life chooses to diverge from my own selfish plans. As such, my prayers are more often than not full of pleas and questions, asking God to take my life down a certain direction. A direction that I want. That I believe will make me happy, successful, etc., etc.
So I plan my life down to a tee and then I am rather disappointed when it fails to follow this plan. But then, something always seems to happen: I find myself infinitely happier with the life I have, rather than the life I wanted. Every time my life has taken a new direction, diverting itself from the specified plan, I have not been granted what I wanted. Instead, I've been given what I need.
It has taken me almost all of my life to understand the fact that I am happier when I allow God to lead my life. And I am still working towards accepting this. I am working on letting go of my detailed plan and allowing God to give me what I need. While I am craving for earthly goals and successes, God is giving me what I need in the form of heavenly purposes. Along the way, God has given me wonderful experiences and people to share my life with. He has given me what I truly NEED.