Perfectly Placed

IT'S STORY TIME, Y'ALL!

I received an e-mail yesterday from Mrs. Becky, our College Ministry Pastor, informing us that our summer Bible study would be kicking off this evening! Beaming with joy, I bolted towards my phone and typed it into my calendar as fast as I could, all the while making sure it showed up in the soft orange color that represents "Bible Study" and has the "praying hands" emoji trailing behind, of course.

In the words of Genesis, "evening passed and morning came" - Wednesday. I woke up the same way I usually do...by opening my eyes (not to worry, I took note of this rare occasion). However, today was different because my "Hump Day Duties" no longer ended after class. Instead, they would continue until evening as the not-so-long awaited Bible study was launching tonight! I was ECSTATIC! THRILLED! EXHILARATED! I couldn't wait to hear more about this new series we were starting. Little did I know, the study I THOUGHT I'd be starting and the study God KNEW I'd be starting were two different studies! Here's what happened:

After worship, Mrs. Becky and I headed to the classroom. Seeing that most of the college students were either out of town or home for the summer (I jokingly refer to them as "The Chosen Ones" because they're not taking summer classes), it didn't take us long to realize Bible study would be "set for two" tonight. We began weighing our options, and I listened intently as Mrs. Becky rattled off the other Bible studies I could attend. I lit up like a Christmas tree when she mentioned a Bible study that'd be reading a book that motivates us to "do the love of God" and "put it into creative practice." I'm not sure, but I think...I *THINK* my excitement was obvious (I'm kidding, of course...my facial expressions are about as subtle as an earthquake), for she immediately grabbed her things and said, "Let's go!" We marched one-by-one (hoorah, hoorah) to the room where Love Does was perfectly placed in my hands. I say "perfectly placed" because as I began skimming through the pages, God began poking and prodding at me. I skimmed some more. He prodded some more. It was evident God wanted my attention and my side would continue to be poked until I listened. 

You see, Love Does is a book about people wanting to follow their dreams, and even planning on going, but ultimately...not going. It encourages us to have faith and simply "show up" because "you don't need a plan; you just need to be present." We have to "land the plane on our plans to make a difference by getting to the 'do' part of faith" because "love is never stationary" and "simply put: love does." This was EXACTLY what I needed to hear because it is EXACTLY what I'm going through! Coincidence? Nope, not one bit! God has our best interest in mind. He knows WHAT we need and WHEN we need it! HIS TIMING IS PERFECT!

The point of this story is: I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe there was a reason I was the only person that showed up tonight...because that led Mrs. Becky to telling me about the other Bible studies...which led me to having Love Does "perfectly placed" in my hands because God knew THIS was the lesson I needed to learn right now! We may make the plans, but God will rearrange them until they match HIS agenda...just as He rearranged my Bible study plans!

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD'S purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21