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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

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Seeing God in the Middle of Your Messed-Up Plans

I’ve had my share of daydreams about living on permanent vacation, but this wasn’t how I pictured it going down.

After moving to a new city for work, we couldn’t find a home that fit our family or our budget, despite how hard we tried. And to our surprise, this new city of ours even had a waiting list for apartments.

And so it was that hotel room 229 became our address for a while.

This wasn’t what we had in mind when planning our move, but one sparkling blue grace did accompany hotel life—a swimming pool.

Day upon day, my children and I whisked our way downstairs to the water, as the pool quickly became our escape from the small of a room and its imposing walls.

While those months of hotel life are now the foggy flashbacks of yesteryear, there is one extraordinary afternoon I’ll never forget—for we had no idea of the divine appointment God had scheduled for us that day.

My sons collected playmates almost as quickly as they collected dirt, and this day was no exception as they became fast friends with a little boy at the pool.

Laughter filled the courtyard as the sun crawled down the horizon, until finally I called my crew inside for supper.

While the boys said goodbye to their new friend, I gathered our things, and there in the dusk of that humble afternoon, God offered a glimpse into His divine appointment book.

“Thank you. Thank you more than you know,” a warm voice expressed.

I turned to listen as a grateful mother spoke of a son who was different, who was rarely included, who was used to being the lonely observer, not the welcomed friend.

Wow, I thought. I assumed we’d gone poolside that day to escape the nagging walls of a hotel room, believed we lived from suitcases because we couldn’t find a home.

Yet, right in the middle of my messed-up plans, God gave me fresh insight for the countless unseen ways we are keepers of divine appointments.

That day, my family found ourselves living the truth of Solomon’s proverb, “You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail” (Proverbs 19:21).

We’d made many plans, all right—plans that wouldn’t align with our timing, plans that didn’t include raising our family in a hotel room.

Yet we’d forgotten that God knows what it is to make Himself at home in extra-ordinary places. Jesus left the glories of heaven for the gravity of earth to fulfill the greatest purpose of all—to become the Savior of the world. (John 6:38-40) And, during His ministry on earth, He often slept outdoors on the Mount of Olives, calling no place home. (Luke 21:37; Matthew 8:20) Then after His resurrection and return to heaven, the Holy Spirit came to dwell within the life of every believer. (John 14:16-17)

This very same God who makes His home with us intimately orders our days, planting our feet in timely places, weaving purpose into our stories. I realized that day that life isn’t all about finding a place to call home but about being at home with His plans, open to appointments we never see coming.

That evening, I walked back up the stairs to room 229 with fresh understanding for the purpose bound up in the weary of life, as cramped hotel living became a worthy offering to the Keeper of eternal timetables.

For I saw purpose in the grateful eyes of a mom that day, in the laughs of a welcomed little boy, in the sacred cadence of surrender’s song: Here am I, Lord. Send me.

 

What divine appointments has God scheduled in your life? We’d love for you to join the conversation over at Proverbs 31 Ministries today! I’ll meet you there in the comments, friend!  ♥

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Oh, friend, if you too have ever cried the prayer, Oh, friend, if you too have ever cried the prayer, “Lord, we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You,” …

I hope you’ll join me on the Proverbs 31 Ministries, Encouragement For Today Podcast today for this short 5 minute encouragement.
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You can find the Encouragement For Today Podcast  in your podcast app, or at: encouragement-for-today-podcast.transistor.fm/
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How can I pray for you today as you wait in worship for the Lord’s victory in you life? 💕🙏🏻
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I wonder how these same palms I lift in praise can I wonder how these same palms I lift in praise can grip so tightly to a thousand concerns.
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Long have I held my concerns close, because sometimes letting go feels like giving up, and often I confuse the restless management of life with perseverance.
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I ponder the familiar words of trust and hope and confidence…trying to remove them from my Sunday School vernacular; willing them to to become foreign to my vocabulary so they might become alive again to my understanding.
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…Oh, friend, if you have ever heard the familiar phrase, “Let go and let God,” and wondered…okay, but how?
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Me too.
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In today’s Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion, I share how the Lord met me in this struggle, and showed me how to trade constant concern for quiet relief.
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How I pray that today dawns anew for you in this area, my friend, as you release the cares of your life to the God of your life.
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How did yesterday get so far away? . 35 years this How did yesterday get so far away?
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35 years this man and I have mini-golfed our way through Labor Day.
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We skipped “Selfie 101;” our photos are forever random. We’re fancy like that. 🙃
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I’d rather have a picture of a flower than a picture of my face every day of the week. 🌸
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Time, I don’t know how you do it. How you turn 1988 into 2023 with just a wink.
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But I do know that the best traditions are always the ones that choose you.
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Oh, for 35 more. 💕
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Oh, friend, if you’re in a season of “trying” that’s making you just plain tired…
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Grab a copy of Tired of Trying, by @ashley.morgan.jackson . In this book, Ashley vulnerably shares her story of holding on to God when she felt forgotten by the world amidst a long season of hardship.
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So much goodness in these pages for understanding how to release the frustration of feeling tired and stuck.
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If you decide to read, I’d love to hear your thoughts! May the Lord meet you in its pages, my friend. 💕
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