Yesterday my daughter requested something for Christmas (her first official Christmas request, ever)… so best believe we’re going to try to get it for her!

As soon as she mentioned it, I started thinking about where we’d put it- it’s kind of big. The only logical place is her bedroom, and right now she doesn’t really have room for it. So today, I went into full purge mode to try to “rework” her room so it would fit well.

When I started this project she wasn’t here- she was out with my dad for a bit. I moved some furniture out of her room, dumped a ton of stuff on her bed, and had bins of books and toys all over her room. It was a mess, but it was an “organized mess”, and I had a plan and knew what I was going to do.

They came back unexpectedly, so everything was still out when she got here. She walked into her room and exclaimed “Mommy!! You messed up my room bad! Please clean it up for me!” I told her I was working on it to give her some more room; (I knew she’d hound me to find out what it was if I told her I was doing it because we were getting her something big for Christmas). That didn’t appease her though- girlfriend was mad that her room was so messy.

It hit me in that moment that this scenario is a lot like life with God- how often times He has something new in store for us- something big- but He has to make room in us first. I know, well, that familiar, uncomfortable “shift” that happens as things start to change- suddenly. Things feel uncomfortable, stressful, out of place… But all the while He has a plan- the “shift” is just part of the process to make room for the new thing.

My daughter’s room, to her, just looked like a giant mess… everything out of place. But all the while I had a plan to make it even better than it was before. And I know she’ll love it- no doubt; I know my daughter. Hopefully as she grows older and gets to know my character even more, she’ll have a little more trust that my plans for her are good, and that I can be trusted.

When things feel out of sorts- when we feel that uncomfortable “shift” in our lives- when we know change is on the horizon, we can rest assured that as we move into the unknown [even if we don’t understand it right now] His plans for us are good and He knows what He’s doing. He really is a good, good Father <3.

Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Matthew 7:9-11
“You parents- if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.”