Better than the dream
My dream has always been to own a cabin in the mountains, a log home with a river or stream where I could walk in the trees or sit by the water and commune with God. I prayed, watched, waited, searched, cried, begged, pleaded, and hoped that one day the dream would come to fruition.
Sweet hubby and I took road trips to destinations where we thought we would like to retire. We prayed, looked online, drove country roads, and searched, yet nothing gave us peace and confirmation from the Holy Spirit. We continued to wait and pray until finally, after the long journey, God opened the door for our retirement home.
The home God gave us is in a subdivision and looks like your typical Southern brick home built in the early 2000’s with trees in the back yard. The property doesn’t seem to meet the criteria I had prayed for, the dream I thought would come true. However, God granted the desires of my heart in a way far better and more appropriate for this stage of my life. With my weakening eyesight, living in the mountains on a large piece of property would be a problem.
The visual of what I thought I wanted, isn’t what God granted — He gave something much better. God blessed with a home sitting on a little hill in a very nice subdivision with a drainage easement I hope we can convert to look like a stream. We’re turning the formal dining area with large picture windows into my office where I have plenty of light to read, study, and write. The house and yard are perfect for us, and we feel as though we are on a permanent vacation. My heart is blessed and filled with the goodness and loving-kindness of our wonderful God.
Do you have a dream, a heart-desire? The Psalmist tells us to delight in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our heart. God’s plans, His ways, are better than we can imagine. Trust Him. Delight in God, commit yourself to Him and watch the wonderful ways He will work.
“‘For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.’” ~ Jeremiah 29:11 (NET Bible)
“’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” ~ Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)
“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.” ~ Psalm 37:3-5 (NASB)
Photos by Lisa Buffaloe