These are a Few of my Favorite Things...

"Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things."

Julie Andrews once sang those lyrics in The Sound of Music, and it got me thinking. Life is full of hardships. It's like when things finally seem to be going smoothly, something will come out of nowhere to bring us down. Lately, the biggest hardship I've been feeling is loneliness. Back when I was living in St. Louis, this same feeling came to surface. It was like whatever I did, I couldn't get over the loneliness I felt in being so far away from my family. After really praying about it, I felt like God was calling me to move to Arizona to be near a part of my family: my sister, Lesli, and her family. It was such a hard decision. It was hard to leave my friends who were around the St. Louis area, but it was also hard knowing I would be moving even further away from my parents and my other sister, Jen, and her family, who all lived within driving distance. I couldn't help but wonder what God had planned for my life that would lead me to Arizona. But I listened to His calling and made the move anyway.

The last year and a half have been some of the best years of my short 26 years of life so far. I've been blessed with not only getting to be around a part of my family, but finding close Christian relationships around me that help me grow in my faith. Yet once again, I'm back at that feeling of loneliness. I found out a couple months ago that my sister and her family would be leaving Arizona and moving to California so my brother-in-law could pursue a job opportunity. Once again, I was asking God, "Why?" Why did He have me move out here just to have the only family that I have around me leave me? I struggled with wanting to doubt God and His decision to move me out here and His decision to move my sister away from me.

In these hard times, I have found comfort in trusting God's ways are always better than my own. Just like He knew what He was doing when He moved me down here, I have to trust that He knows what He's doing in this situation, too, as He does in every situation. No matter if it is something we view as significant or insignificant, God takes delight in us trusting in Him, which causes me to take even more delight in having Him as my Savior.

So you may be wondering what in the world Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music has to do with my rant. As I thought about those lyrics, I thought about how there was such an important part missing from that song: God. He is my favorite "thing." I can't imagine life without Him. I can't imagine how people can go through these hard times and not have that strong tower to turn to when life throws you those curve balls. So the next time you're facing a hard time, whether it be loneliness, finances, relationships, your job, etc., take heart in knowing there is a God out there who loves you. Jeremiah 29:11 says "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." God never said life was going to be easy or that once you trust in Him, things are going to be perfect, but He did let us know that He'd have everything under control. I know that even when I'm struggling with feelings of loneliness and abandonment, there is a reason for it that is so much bigger than I could ever fathom. I look forward to seeing what He is going to do in my life this year! I hope you do, too, and can take delight in His promise!