Stand

So this year really hasn't gone as I expected it to.

At the beginning of the year, I chose "stand" to be my "word" for 2020:
-Strength to stand on my own and go my own way in life (just to clarify this thought- not like running away from God or anything, just knowing I would be traveling, moving, & living alone a lot in 2020)
- Courage to stand for justice and what I believe is right
- Faith to stand every morning and do my best to bring glory to God in everything I do
- Standing knowing that He stands right next to me and walks beside me.

Here we are, half way through the year. Taking a second to reflect on what standing looks like for me right now, I had some pretty big ideas of what this year would hold 6 months ago. Literally NONE of those things I dreamed of and even prayed for have come to pass. It has seriously sent me on a loop I couldn't have planned for.

You know what though? Even though NONE of those plans worked out, I still wake up every morning and I stand. I stand in who He is. I stand in the promises and covenants He has wrapped me in. I stand because I know He will lead me through another day, another week, another month. In all the cancelled things, I have been abundantly blessed with things I couldn't have planned for this year:
- I have a job I love and have grown in
- I've seen the Lord answer my prayer for friends to laugh with and pray with
- I have been able to be involved with my church finding a new pastor
- I was able to start a small bible study for MK Girls in Europe
- I got to see my twin sister get engaged to an amazing guy
All of these things either wouldn't have happened or I would have missed out on completely if the year had gone how I had wished it to. Praise the Lord it didn't! He knows so much more than me. His plans are so much better than my own (Isaiah 55:8-9). I'm thankful to have a God who causes me to stand day after day.

"Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love." 
1 Corinthians 16:13-14