Who’s my neighbor? Who am I called to love? Those people who are right in front of me are a good place to start. But I also have a strong desire to write, and my kids are thriving in full-time public school, so I get to spend more time on writing while they’re at school. For now, for me, I spend a lot of my time caring for my family, because my kids are at a stage in life when they still need me to be around often. What that looks like for you and for me will look different in how it’s carried out. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. How do we know what we’re called to do? I think the best place to start is Matthew 22:37-39, And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the great and first commandment. The scriptures tell me to be responsible and do the best job I can at whatever I’m called to do.

My part then is to follow through on what’s been revealed to me. So if God is in control, and if he promises to work everything together for his good purpose, does that mean I should just passively sit by and let life happen to me? No, definitely not! There’s a verse in Deuteronomy 29:29, The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. I have to trust that this is true, and when I do, I there’s a peace that is so sweet, even in the hard times, even in the unknown. It may look more like failure or heartache, but it’s all for God’s purpose, and God’s purpose is always good for those who love him. The good that is promised will sometimes be a mystery, something that we will not see for years, or even in our lifetime, and it may not be something that we could immediately recognize as good.

I rest in the knowledge of Romans 8:28, which says, And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Unknowns make me uncomfortable, but they’re a part of life, and learning to accept that I can’t control and plan everything that happens to me or to those I love is how I'm learning to trust in Jesus.

The great unknown