Dealing With The Unexpected
Many times in life we find ourselves in a situation that we never would have thought we would be in. You know what I'm talking about, right? The unexpected... surprise babies, a surprise love, a move, new job, etc. There's also the unexpected of death, loss of job, natural disasters, or injury. I am sure we have all been in a place where we find ourselves dealing with an unexpected event in our life.
The trick to getting through this time is flexibility, patience, courage, faith, and time. I have found many times in my life that the plan I have created for myself may not line up with the Lord's plan for me. I once heard a quote from a favorite show of mine, Sherlock (BBC version).
Sherlock is talking with his brother Mycroft and mentions that something couldn't have happened by coincidence. His brother asks, "What do we say about coincidences?" Sherlock replies, "That the universe isn't that lazy." I love this quote! I do believe that there are no coincidences in life. Everything happens for a reason. Either there is a lesson that you need to learn or a lesson that you are a part of for someone else to learn.
Story time...
Back when I was in college, I was getting really tired of the place I was living and the same "day in and day out" happenings. I wanted a change. I was ready for something different. I was in the last year of my schooling and decided to transfer universities. The one I was currently at did not have the exact degree I was wanting so I looked into a school about 2 hours away that had exactly what I was looking for. I was so excited about this change. I prayed about it and didn't really get a distinct yes or no response. Many times I have noticed that if something isn't right the Lord will either tell me then or He'll give me red flags along the way. Since, I didn't feel a "no" from Him in this case I moved forward.
I prepared and did everything I could to get things moving along so I could still graduate in a year. I went up to the prospective university and stayed with some friends of mine. I found housing, met with a guidance counselor, looked around the area, searched for jobs, etc. I was ready to go. I went back up one last time to meet with the director over my degree and boy did that change things. He told me that if I was to transfer I wouldn't graduate for another two years. Two years!! Umm, no thank you. I was so bummed. I was a little confused as to why this plan of mine didn't work out. I didn't feel like it was that much of a change but I couldn't do two more years of college when I could be done in one.
I decided not to go. It just wasn't worth it. In the mean time I had already been replaced in my current apartment so I knew I had to move out. I found an awesome group of girls that were living in a condo and when I went to see it, it just felt like home. I moved in right away and started my last year of college. Everything started to work out so nicely. During the final fall semester we were told we needed to find an internship. I wanted to go into sports journalism so I started looking for places to take me. I found a great internship at a news station in Salt Lake City, helping with editing film and writing for the news. At the end of my internship I realized I didn't really enjoy it. It was a lot of work for very little pay. I decided to go another route. I took another internship for a professional soccer team in Salt Lake City called Real Salt Lake. I LOVED it!!
I was soon hired on at Real and I loved every minute of it. I met my husband a few months later and one of my roommates ended up marrying a very good childhood friend of mine. I set them up ;) It's interesting how there really are no coincidences in life. I was where I was supposed to be at the right time to meet the right people. How grateful I am that I didn't push for original plan to work out. I may have missed out on a lot of great things in my life.
Sometimes when things happen that are unexpected we just have to sit back, take a deep breath and have faith that the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. It's not always a positive surprise that pops up in life but I bet it is something that we learn from or it is something to help build our faith and bring us closer to the one person that matters most, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Questions to think about:
Have you had times in your life that just worked out? Have you seen the Savior's hand in your life? What are a few unexpected things that have happened to you?
Family Home Evening Idea:
Talk about the importance of being flexible and patient when things don't go the way you think they should. Discuss how the Lord is an important person in your life when it comes to the unexpected. Share with your family a time that things didn't go how you thought they would.
Scripture of the month:
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
Follow up from previous months:
Did you spoil your mothers and fathers these past two months? Remember to reach out to your parents or those you look up to as parents and keep them posted on your life. Hope you are all enjoying your summer time.
The trick to getting through this time is flexibility, patience, courage, faith, and time. I have found many times in my life that the plan I have created for myself may not line up with the Lord's plan for me. I once heard a quote from a favorite show of mine, Sherlock (BBC version).
Sherlock is talking with his brother Mycroft and mentions that something couldn't have happened by coincidence. His brother asks, "What do we say about coincidences?" Sherlock replies, "That the universe isn't that lazy." I love this quote! I do believe that there are no coincidences in life. Everything happens for a reason. Either there is a lesson that you need to learn or a lesson that you are a part of for someone else to learn.
Story time...
Back when I was in college, I was getting really tired of the place I was living and the same "day in and day out" happenings. I wanted a change. I was ready for something different. I was in the last year of my schooling and decided to transfer universities. The one I was currently at did not have the exact degree I was wanting so I looked into a school about 2 hours away that had exactly what I was looking for. I was so excited about this change. I prayed about it and didn't really get a distinct yes or no response. Many times I have noticed that if something isn't right the Lord will either tell me then or He'll give me red flags along the way. Since, I didn't feel a "no" from Him in this case I moved forward.
I prepared and did everything I could to get things moving along so I could still graduate in a year. I went up to the prospective university and stayed with some friends of mine. I found housing, met with a guidance counselor, looked around the area, searched for jobs, etc. I was ready to go. I went back up one last time to meet with the director over my degree and boy did that change things. He told me that if I was to transfer I wouldn't graduate for another two years. Two years!! Umm, no thank you. I was so bummed. I was a little confused as to why this plan of mine didn't work out. I didn't feel like it was that much of a change but I couldn't do two more years of college when I could be done in one.
I decided not to go. It just wasn't worth it. In the mean time I had already been replaced in my current apartment so I knew I had to move out. I found an awesome group of girls that were living in a condo and when I went to see it, it just felt like home. I moved in right away and started my last year of college. Everything started to work out so nicely. During the final fall semester we were told we needed to find an internship. I wanted to go into sports journalism so I started looking for places to take me. I found a great internship at a news station in Salt Lake City, helping with editing film and writing for the news. At the end of my internship I realized I didn't really enjoy it. It was a lot of work for very little pay. I decided to go another route. I took another internship for a professional soccer team in Salt Lake City called Real Salt Lake. I LOVED it!!
I was soon hired on at Real and I loved every minute of it. I met my husband a few months later and one of my roommates ended up marrying a very good childhood friend of mine. I set them up ;) It's interesting how there really are no coincidences in life. I was where I was supposed to be at the right time to meet the right people. How grateful I am that I didn't push for original plan to work out. I may have missed out on a lot of great things in my life.
Sometimes when things happen that are unexpected we just have to sit back, take a deep breath and have faith that the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. It's not always a positive surprise that pops up in life but I bet it is something that we learn from or it is something to help build our faith and bring us closer to the one person that matters most, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Questions to think about:
Have you had times in your life that just worked out? Have you seen the Savior's hand in your life? What are a few unexpected things that have happened to you?
Family Home Evening Idea:
Talk about the importance of being flexible and patient when things don't go the way you think they should. Discuss how the Lord is an important person in your life when it comes to the unexpected. Share with your family a time that things didn't go how you thought they would.
Scripture of the month:
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
Follow up from previous months:
Did you spoil your mothers and fathers these past two months? Remember to reach out to your parents or those you look up to as parents and keep them posted on your life. Hope you are all enjoying your summer time.
