This fall played out much differently than I imagined.
I thought since all four of my children would be in school full-time, the world of possibilities would open up to me and it would be wildly, laughably easy to snatch up a job that would be perfectly suited to my needs, desires, and capabilities.
Fast forward through hours of searching, applying, and interviewing, and here you have it: me working on things (such as writing, teaching a Bible study at my church, and “here and there jobs” like tutoring, helping a friend with home organization, and the illustrious career of DoorDashing) but still praying that God would clearly direct my steps if there’s a job or something else he has for me during this season.
A few weeks into this schedule, I began to think this: what if this schedule is what God has for me this year? Do I want to look back at this season as a time when I was pining away for “the perfect job” — as if it’s an itch that I just can’t quite scratch? Or is it possible to have a heart at rest and thriving even during this “in-between time”?
Of course, I want to answer with a resounding “YES!” But the fact remains: a resting, thriving heart only comes when I rest in God and his plan—right now—for my life. The “right now” words are key because have you ever found yourself “resting” in God’s future plans for your life? Perhaps pining away for a future event (upcoming marriage, new birth, forever home, hopeful relationship, or perfect job) in a way that despises the present days of waiting? “Right now resting” comes before the relationship happens or the perfect job appears. Resting has to come in the waiting.
“A resting heart only comes when I rest in God and his plan—right now—for my life.”
Let’s zoom out a little, shall we? Because whether you feel like you are in an “in-between time” of life or not, we are all living in-between earth and heaven. My fellow believer, your life is filled to the brim with in-between times that take many different forms but are always marked by transition, loss, and longing. But my friend and fellow pilgrim, though this life is not our final resting place, we can have a heart at perfect rest when we trust in God, the One who is with us in the “in-between.”
No matter what is going on in your life today, your heart can be at rest, full of trust and faith in God. A heart that isn’t in turmoil over what can be seen, but is at peace because of what can’t be seen—namely, that there is a loving, powerful God who is at work in and through all the significant and seemingly insignificant events of your life.
Find your rest in Him, my friend. You won’t find it anywhere else.