Where You Are

Growing up I heard my Momma say many times over how her dream vacation would be Vermont in the Fall. My Momma loves the Fall season and the picture she held in her head of what Vermont would look like in the Fall was more than she could take. I vividly remember riding with my Momma listening to her talk about her dream vacation and what it is like there. I was a young girl, elementary school still, and as I intently would listen to her describe the trees, the air, the environment I could picture it with my very own eyes. Vermont seemed like a different world to me...a place so far off that I would only be able to see it in my mind.

As time marched on and I began to grow older I would look at pictures of Vermont in the Fall. Magazines, books...just anything really. With every picture I would think about my Momma's dream of visiting Vermont in the Fall. I looked at the trees where we lived and although they were beautiful, they were not Vermont!

More time marched on and on a visit to my parents' house Momma and I made a trip into town. She began to describe to me a drive she had on her way to work earlier in the week. She said as she drove down the long windy country road she looked out over the trees. The colors of fall were delicately painted on the leaves as if God has simply brushed across them with every orange and yellow he could find. The trees were full and if you looked close enough you could see the sun peering through the branches. She said God gently pressed upon her heart here is your Vermont.

How many times do we think we need more than what we have? How many times are we content with where we are at this very moment? Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we should never want anything or have a goal, but what I am saying is that sometimes our want and our goal are right in front of us but we are too stubborn to see it! Maybe it's not in the package that we thought it would be in or maybe it's not the ideal situation but nevertheless it still IS what we had hoped for! Sometimes our Vermont isn't just like someone elses!

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'" Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT). Just because we don't see the plan, it doesn't mean there isn't one!