A Step in the Right Direction

Proverbs 16:9 "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his step."


An important ministry for women I and many others devote ourselves all year to is temporarily suspended due to unforeseen changes in administration. A search for new leadership and God's timely directive in it all awaits us. The last two events continued as scheduled and our ministry teams  stepped up to provide the support for each other to allow this amazing night to proceed. 

In the six years "Coffee Break" has taken place, this last Monday night astounded us in every aspect, with an affirmation that this particular event will continue, grow and inspire us to be authentic and obedient in telling our story for His glory. 

When man plans to honor the Lord, He will surely direct the steps towards success! It takes communication, trust, a passion and a lot of prayer when a challenge comes, but how would we ever grow or see the beauty of the path if we didn't stop and take it in, re-evaluate and rally for what we know is a beautiful road of hope. We encouraged each other to persevere. It was said, "Coffee Break is writing its own story," and I found that to be true. Through this challenge, I got to know a few other woman better, encourage one another all the more and see God's direction illuminated in our leadership; our purpose, to share the hope of the Gospel through testimony. 

We played a game that night. We had to place a paper plate on our head and with a pen, blindly draw a picture, one step given at a time. 

Draw the ground. Now draw a house. Draw a door on your house, add windows. Place a tree in your picture. Add a sun. Some clouds, etc. After we were finished, we all looked at our drawing, our scribbles, and determined if we placed our pens and drew the picture to look as if these icons appeared relatable. 

Sometimes, life seems like that. We are blindly trying to create a "picture" of what we think we want and we just can't imagine the finished result because it just seems like a finger-painting, not the Renoir we pictured. It can be frustrating. But God sees what we cannot. If we trust Him with our hand--our lives to continue to guide us and follow His directive, we can be assured that what He is creating in us is a masterpiece and reflective of His glory. Your sun might even have a smiling face and a butterfly grace your view of heaven. 

Last night my son left his friend's house a little too late, about an hours drive home. While getting on the two lane highway not known for its safety, a bad accident happened just ahead of him. Two cars collided head-on when one car made an obvious unsafe attempt to pass a big rig on a hill. There were fatalities and a closure of the highway. My son and several other drivers were stuck behind the  scene, unable to move, turn around or proceed anywhere. He sat in his car for the next 5 hours in the middle of the night in the cold desert. 

How do I know all this? He called me, I called him, he called me. All night long, I lay awake as he did, resting, but calling every hour or so to check on the progress, make sure he was safe and staying awake, and encouraged. Someone at home was waiting for him, he wasn't alone and though tragedy and wreckage surrounded him, love still lit up his phone. Concern and hope still encouraged him in this lonely frustrating time in which he had no control over. The Lord directed his steps to be behind the caution tape and not inside it. Thank you Lord!  

Father God, we thank you for teaching us to trust you when things just go another way, not as we planned. Help us Lord to keep that trust and grow that trust, encouraging one another in love and hope. Help us Lord to slow down and look for obstacles and not have head-on collisions with doubt and fear. When things get out of our own control, surround us with the right people to inspire us and lift us up to see where our eyes should keep focused. Even when we feel we can't see beyond our own limitations, help us Lord to keep at Your directives, Your loving words because with each faithful step, You Lord are creating in us something glorious, something the world can see a bit of You in, a pathway to Your door of everlasting and abundant life. Amen.