Two weeks ago, I left my job of almost 10 years. The only job I’ve ever had in my adult life. And one I’ve loved with all my heart.
The common refrain has been - “What’s next?”
The common answer has been - “Whatever the Lord’s got.”
I’m more of a control freak than I’d care to admit. And for the majority of my adult life, my days have been carefully scheduled and planned (Thank you Simplified Planner, Moms on Call baby schedules and my days as an executive assistant.). So with a wide open summer (and life - AH!) ahead, it is taking a lot of faith to truly believe my answer.
Whatever the Lord’s got.
Walking in obedience by faith with a lot of hope.
And believing through it all that my life will flourish - though it’s looking differently than I’d have pictured.
Psalm 1 reminds us that those who delight in the law of the Lord are like trees planted along a river. That they’ll bear fruit in EACH season. That their leaves won’t wither. That they’ll FLOURISH in all they do.
It’s not circumstantial - but in my every day life sometimes it feels like that. Of course when everything is going according to MY plan and appears to be *flourishing*, I’m like WHY YES I am a tree planted by water. Things are great - spiritually, relationally, emotionally.
It’s not circumstantial - it’s rooted. It’s planted. It’s not the flourishing that matters; it’s the riverbank. It’s the digging down deeply into His word, the close listening for His spirit, the being known by His people that makes all the difference.
I don’t know a lot of things in this season. I have no idea what my next steps look like. I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. I have no clue how to get where I’d like to go.
And I’m starting to gather that that’s the point.
It’s not the flourishing He’s concerned with as much as where I’m planted. Everything else is the byproduct. It’s not the job or the friends or the next big decision. It’s the delight in the law of the Lord. It’s the meditation day and night. It’s the time it takes for the roots to go down deep. THAT’S how the flourishing happens.
If I’m being 100% honest, I’d love to microwave this next season of my life. I don’t want the crockpot or gardening version that will take hours/days/months/YEARS to yield what I’m looking for. But that’s exactly what’s ahead. A long obedience in the same direction, as Eugene Peterson put it. Slow, steady growth that bears fruit. An intricate and strong root system that’s been fortified over years, not minutes.
A life planted on the truth that He finishes what He starts, that we’ll see His goodness yet, that He is our Sun and our Shield, that He withholds no good thing from those who seek Him. That’s how we flourish, even when we don’t feel like it. That’s how we can dare to hope, even when it doesn’t look quite so hopeful.
And it’s always way more fun (and feels a bit easier) to plant and hope together! So let’s dig deeply with eyes wide open in this season and get our hopes up that the flourishing is coming!
