"Things really will be OK."

"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."

Jeremiah 29:11

My job right now isn't the best. I'm not really sure "what I want to be when I grow up," and that is a bit of a mid-young-life crisis. It's also difficult not knowing whether I'm going to be working from one week to the next (the joys of working for a staffing agency). I've had to do some re-thinking on who my true friends are.

Despite all of things that don't seem to be going according to plan, I am finding myself able to be thankful for the blessings that the Lord has given me. I had a wonderful time with my whole family yesterday at a Labor Day cookout. I hadn't seen any of them in months, and it was so refreshing to fellowship with them and eat entirely too much delicious food. :)

I also had the chance to spend a long weekend up in Virginia with my father-in-law getting his new house unpacked and painted. We had such a great time!

My husband and I have had to lean on each other and realize that life isn't always as easy as it's touted to be, as far as jobs are concerned. He's been such a rock while I worry like crazy about my job and future job prospects, or rather, the lack thereof. He's such a blessing as he is so responsible and attune to that husband feeling of wanting to take care of and provide for his family.

It has been really difficult with my best friend being overseas for the past month (she comes home soon!), but thankfully I have so many wonderful friends still here. Life's been tougher recently, and I have had so many opportunities to realize who my real friends are. It's been such a blessing to be able to pour my energies into building better relationships with people who care about me just as much as I care about them.

I feel that going through so much (and am still going through) in the past few months has made me a stronger person. I've taken off rose-colored glasses to make myself a more informed, aware and independent person; and I think that's an important step that I've needed to take. My job issues have been such a constant struggle to know what's coming next. I'm always trying to figure out where I'll be in five years. But the more I think about it and become frustrated, I realize that I don't HAVE to know what's going to happen. I just need to pray about it, take the necessary steps to make myself a marketable candidate and know that the right job will be there at the right time.

My friend Lindsey posted a while ago that she and I were working to clean out the unnecessary garbage from our lives. I believe that Spring Cleaning is done for me! It hurts at times, but I am a much stronger person for it. And I know that my husband, family and friends will be there for me no matter what, and that is such an encouragement.

That passage above has always been one of my favorites. I'm a chronic worrier and such a "fixer." Things have to go my way or I get stressed and feel like I've done something wrong and messed up ... life! It has always been such an encouragement to me whenever I feel overwhelmed by the future that the Lord is going to take care of me. And I can rest in His promise that, as my husband says, "Things really will be OK!"