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
We all make plans. Right now, we plan to return to New Jersey. I miss my kids and grandkids there so much. And the plans I had when we moved to South Carolina have not materialized. Because my schedule in NJ had been a full one, I assumed that would happen in SC. But I was wrong. Despite being credentialed with many insurances, it hasn’t worked like I planned. Maybe I didn’t connect with the right people, maybe I really wanted to go home. But my plan has not worked. I have learned alot here about how much God loves me. Maybe that was part of God’s plan for me. I have experienced so much spiritually that I never had before. Maybe that was part of God’s plan too. A good friend said to me that maybe this move wasn’t about work - but about what God had for me.
One thing I am learning is that God’s plans are far better than mine. His plans are tailored just for me - because He knows what I need and what I will need in the future. He knows how He wants to use me. So, no matter how it looks, if He takes us back to NJ - it will be for our good and His glory.
The plan there is to reopen New Hope Counseling. Now I believe this is part of God’s plan for us. New Hope is a nonprofit counseling ministry that my husband and I started in 2010. Its’ purpose was to provide affordable counseling for trauma. Its’ foundation lay in the abuse I experienced growing up and how I felt that God wanted me to comfort others as I had been comforted. For different reasons, we got away from New Hope. Part of this was financial. And I believe part of it was fear. Fear that, even though God had gotten it started, He somehow was going to walk away and leave us behind. And He has reminded me about New Hope more than once. Maybe this is part of the reason things haven’t worked out here as I PLANNED. Because it wasn’t His plan.
I am excited how God is going to work this out. But His Word says He will - and it will be to give me hope and a future. And to prosper me and not hurt me. So this is also about learning to trust Him. I’ll keep you posted. And I appreciate your prayers!