The Year-Ago Me

Tonight, the pavement underneath bare feet is still warm from the sun even though the stars are out. Sweet little fireflies flicker through the trees and the air is so heavy with humidity it feels like a soggy towel. Summer has hit full wave with temperatures edging close to triple digits and I can't help but peer back into the "me" of a year ago.

It is crazy how much can change in such a short amount of time. It is crazy how much doesn't change.

The year-ago me was learning about prayer. Prayer is about an undeserving child pouring out an empty heart to a Father God who, with one drop of heavenly power, can heal the sick, blind, and broken.

A year ago, I was discovering that my plans will never, ever outshine God's. I can make my own way, I can choose what, when, who, or how I want...and it may even appear to "work out" but it cannot be any better than what the Saviour has in store.

A year ago I was standing at the beginning of summer looking into my last year of college. I would lay on the cracked driveway and listen to the stoplight change and wonder what my life would bring.

The today me is still learning about prayer. Day in and day out I am reminded of how far I have to come in my prayer life and how easy it is to forget the incredible power of conversing with the Almighty.

Today I can only smile at how different plans can be. I now know that God makes His way much clearer than I ever gave Him credit for. I know that He works in mysterious ways and I can only eagerly wait for Him to continue working in the manner He does!

The Beth of today is still looking out at the rest of my life and I still wonder what the Lord has in store. I do know, though, that God is so so good and that He has worked on me and in me throughout the past year. I pray that my life only increases in His glory and decreases in mine.

"God never made a promise that was too good to be true." - Dwight L. Moody