If you are a regular reader of the blog then you know that I got engaged right before Christmas. In fact, I have been ridiculously busy since with all the planning and haven't written since the blog announcing my engagement. Yesterday Andy and I began what we both consider an important part of wedding preparations and started our premarital counseling. Most of this first session revolved around how our families and our pasts have shaped who we are. Eventually we came to a section that involved previous relationships. Being that I am nearly 27 and he is 23, we have a few exes between us. I listened as Andy described one relationship in which every time they tried to progress in the relationship, something would hinder progress. I listened to him discuss how his plans to enter the military always got derailed by one detail or another.
I thought of my own experiences of how I had wanted a relationship to work out but it was broken over one reason or another. I thought of how I had wanted to move and had even looked at jobs in other states, but always got held back. I thought of how frustrated I had been, and how frustrated he must have been as a young man whose plans seemed to always be thwarted. I thought of how it was so easy to lose my faith in God in those moments when I felt like I kept facing roadblocks. I not only threw up my hands in frustration, I got down on the ground and threw temper tantrums like a spoiled child because I wasn't getting my way. As I sat in the Pastor's office I realized finally that it absolutely was God who was keeping me from what I thought I wanted. I blamed Him for denying my dreams, when I should have thanked Him for it.
One of my favorite songs had been God Blessed the Broken Road. In fact, it had been "the song" for a previous relationship of mine. When I heard the song I took it to say that someday I would end up with that person and then all the trash and mistakes would be worth it. The truth is, the bumps we encountered were actually roadblocks God placed in my way to keep me (and the other person) off the wrong path. God didn't bless the broken road, He broke the road I built because He loves me. And the same goes for Andy. Had he gotten what he wanted when he wanted it, he would have continued on a path God never intended him to take. I believe 100% that my God delivered Andy and I to one another in the time only He could know was right. I believe God designed us for one another, built to make each other better.
So don't give up when you hit a roadblock. Just know that He is the only One who knows what lies ahead. Don't give up on your faith because things seem hopeless. It will get better, because He has created some thing or someone or some job better for you. Isaiah 55:8 (NLT) tells us, "“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." Did you see that?! You can't even imagine the good things He has planned for you. Don't sell Him short. Don't be so prideful as to think that the road you built is better than what He has. Thank God for breaking your roads.
