Hello everyone. I hope you are well and enjoying your long weekend.

Last Monday was my 13^th wedding anniversary! My husband and I enjoyed our time together. We didn’t do a lot, but what we did was meaningful to us. What a blessed day. I am grateful to God for ordaining our marriage before the foundation of the world. Praise the Lord.

We are twenty-one days into the new year. There have been triumphs and challenges and through it all, I have been praising God. It has been my desire to grow in my walk with Christ as well as live the life he has given me. To be more like Him in every aspect of my life. I am learning to continually seek him first in all things big and small.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (NIV).

In July, I will turn forty. I am looking forward to it. I have been making all kinds of plans for the things I desire to do. While making my plans, I was reminded to keep God at the forefront of everything. God wants me to have an abundant life, but he also wants me to keep him first.

Matthew 6:33 – “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you” (KJV).

We must learn to take the scripture literally. We have to consistently seek God’s kingdom first so the things we desire can be added unto us, not the other way around.

I was recently reminded of this lesson a couple of weeks ago. In 2017 my family and I moved from Philadelphia to Georgia. One of the first visits we wanted to make was to the Georgia Aquarium. I heard such great things about it and could not wait to take my family. When I began planning it (I LOVE planning things), I looked online to get an idea of the pricing and boy was I shocked! For a family of five, the tickets including parking was about $170! Well…we just could not do that. My finances had drastically changed as a result of our move. I was no longer working, and my husband was the primary breadwinner. In my prayer time, I expressed my feelings to God and asked if he could open the door for my family to visit the aquarium. Six months went by and I could not find a coupon or discount code anywhere. All the while, my children were asking when we would go, and all I said was, “When the time is right.”

It was now 2019 and we still had not visited the aquarium. We visited other great places in Georgia, but not the aquarium. During the first week of January, my husband was out and about in Atlanta, and came across a group that was advertising a festival. The festival would take place the entire weekend and it included tickets to…you guessed it, Georgia State Aquarium.

For two adults and up to four children the tickets were a GRAND total of $54!! When I read the flyer, I lifted my hands in praise to God, because I knew this was the answer to my prayer. Not only did we get the tickets for $54, but we did not have to pay for the other sights within the aquarium that range from $25 pp to $75 pp. We did everything and it was FREE!!

On January 13^th, the day before my wedding anniversary we visited the aquarium and had a wonderful time and a great family outing. I know it may seem small, but it was not small to me. God answered my prayer specifically and gave me more than what I asked for.

This is why we seek God in everything. He has perfect timing and he knows what’s best in all things. We must be careful not to go about life making our own plans while leaving God out. Sure, I could have saved up the $170, but look at what I would have missed out on if I had my own plan. My God gave me something better, and that is exactly what he wanted all along. This is why I trust him. He sees the end from the beginning. He knew, before I prayed, there would be a blessing bigger than what I requested.

There have been times God has answered my prayers immediately. And there are prayers I’ve been praying since I was ten years old that I am waiting to manifest. No matter how long, I will trust the process and continually seek his kingdom first. The longer the wait the bigger the blessing.

As children of God, we must remember God has our very best interest in heart. However, to get God’s best, there is a waiting process. The waiting process involves God working on our heart so we can be ready for the blessing.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “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” (NLT).

With all the places I desire to go and things I desire to do, I am going to seek Him first. He knows the way that I take. He knows what’s best for me. I trusted Him with my life this far and I plan on going all the way.

Will you trust Him with the plans for your life?

Blessings.

Please enjoy the video below. It was pretty cool!

 

 

Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash