What is our life?

Bryan and I love to talk about the future. It's pretty common for him to pause in the middle of a bite of dinner and ask, "So Babe, where do you see us in five years?" :) For some reason, dreaming and planning about our future together gives us a rush. In fact, to make it a little easier to keep track of all our ideas (and because Bryan loves spreadsheets), we have compiled an Excel spreadsheet entitled "our life".:) (unfortunately, that document is top secret and will not be included in this post):) If you're thinking this sounds a little strange, don't worry...we are also aware of our tendency to over-plan our lives. Though we really do realize that our best-laid plans are foolishness compared to God's, it's still a constant struggle to be patient and wait for Him to lead in His own time.

So, lately we have been talking about an exciting new idea that has kept my mind spinning with endless details and possibilities. I spent a lot of my prayer time this morning talking to God about all the questions that Bryan and I have been having and asking Him where He wants us next. After that I began reading through different Bible passages. With our newest idea running through my mind, I was struggling to stay focused on the words on the page until I got to James 4.

Here's some of what I read there...
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16)

Pretty humbling to be hit in the face (again) with the undeniable fact that no matter how wise or confident we feel, our lives are small and fragile and completely in the hands of our God. While being excited about what opportunities God could bring into our lives next is not a bad thing, it should never distract us from living fully today or from an unexpected path that God may want to lead us down.

So, that was my little Sunday lesson. I wanted to share it in case it could speak to anyone else and because it's always so exciting to see God completely in tune with our hearts and teaching us...even with the seemingly small things.