I am a planner by nature. I like to know what to expect in everything I do and have a severe fear of new things. Nine times out of ten if you surprise me I will cry, and I almost always google the menu of a new restaurant before I go there.

I have had my future children’s names picked out since elementary school, planned the layout of what my future house will look like, and even gone so far as to pick out the exact day I want to get married (June 29, 2019). Having a general idea of what is going to happen in my life brings me comfort and provides me with a sense of peace. However, if there is anything I have learned in my 19 years on this earth, it is that you can make as many plans as your heart desires, but usually they all have about a 10% chance of happening.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible that I try to live by is Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Although I like to remember and meditate on these words so that I can have my worries eased, they more often bring me frustration than comfort.

I want everything in life to go the way I planned and when this doesn’t happen, I don’t immediately think “oh, well I guess God has a better outcome for me than this.” I instead foolishly come up with a plan B, C, and so on while God is waiting for me to let Him take control.

I often end up going through unnecessary heartbreak and disappointment that I could have easily avoided. If I spent as much time praying about my future as I did planning for it, then I would be able to put God in control of my life far more often.

Another verse I cling to when my plans are wrecked is 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 hope and a future.”

When you have no idea where your life is headed, God already has it all planned out. When you are worried that you will never have success or find happiness, God has promised to prosper you and to give you hope. How amazing is it that the same God who created the universe cares enough about you to care about your future? Have a little faith and trust in God that He knows what he is doing when your life does not follow the path you expected it to.

So next time the boy you thought you were going to marry breaks your heart, or you don’t get that job you so desperately wanted, remember God’s plans are far better than any you could ever imagine. Just hang in there and have faith that God will work everything out in His timing.