Holidays are my jam.

I love spending time baking treats, picking out the perfect gifts for friends and family, planning and attending parties, going to church events, traveling, and Black Friday. I am a Type-A, list making, over-packing, what-if, always-be-prepared-like-the-girl-scouts kind of person, and the holidays bring out the best of that side.

But in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, something unaccounted for will always surface. You forgot your passport at home, you forgot your aunt is allergic to almonds, you forgot your best friend’s gift on your kitchen table, or you have been driving the north freeway for two hours and just realized you need to be on the south freeway (true story, people).

We can make mile-long lists and set alarms and make three trips to Target, but sometimes things just don’t go the way that we expect. This is true about life in general. Some of us thought we’d be married already. Some of us expected to be serving God overseas by this time last year. Some of us planned on the adoption finally going through. Some of us never planned on battling infertility or miscarriage or losing a child.

Whenever life happens differently than I expect, I am reminded consistently of these words:

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
{Proverbs 16:9, ESV}

We forget this. I forget this. And sometimes life doesn’t seem fair when we view it in light of our plans and timelines, when we compare our life to the lives around us.

When we focus on other people and their stories, we forget that God is fully aware of our stories and our situations. When we focus on other people, we think that God has forgotten us, and somehow, we need to remind Him. I know I have spent hours praying and crying over things in my life because I think I need to remind God of my desires.

Friends, we do not serve a God who forgets His people; if anything, He knows our stories more intimately and intricately than ourselves. God doesn’t need to be reminded of anything, but we need to be reminded of everything. When heartache happens, when you feel forgotten, remind yourself of truth.

She got the job . . . the Lord establishes my steps.
He got married . . . the Lord establishes my steps.
They had a baby . . . the Lord establishes my steps.
She moved overseas . . . the Lord establishes my steps.
He got the promotion . . . the Lord establishes my steps.
They bought the house . . . the Lord established my steps.

There are things that I expected I would have accomplished by now. I expected that I could write something about being a newlywed or a new mom, but the Lord has different plan. He is establishing good things, even if they look different than we thought.

During this holiday season, today and every day, we must remember that our God — “the God Who Sees” — is fully aware of our situations and desires and plans.

Today, remind yourself of truth and surrender your plans to God. The Lord establishes your steps.

What good things had God established in your life that you never even planned or dreamed of? What are some things that you need to stop planning for and trust God with?

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Related: Remind yourself daily of His goodness to you by carrying this sweet pouch that says “He fills my life with good things.” {Psalm 103:5}

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