By Doug Creamer

I had the privilege of having lunch with my niece and her husband last week. They have been married for a couple of years and are forging a new life together. They met and married out west. They moved east to be closer to her parents and to work for my nephew in High Point. They are in the process of buying a new home together and are expecting their first baby before Christmas. What an exciting time in their lives.

Most people don’t like change and I can’t imagine all the change the two of them are experiencing. Moving anywhere is challenging; I can’t imagine moving across the country. The challenge of settling in, starting a new job and looking for a new church can easily become overwhelming.

I have seen pictures of the house they are buying. It reminds me of our first home. They are excited to get moved in. He is already planning his garden, which I hope to give him a hand in starting. He wants to build a shop out back down the road. They are at the end of a quiet street like we are now — they are going to love it.

He is working for my nephew, who has developed a gourmet freeze dried food company called Pinnacle Foods. They ship food around the globe. When you read the description of the meal in the pouch it sounds like you should be in a fine dining restaurant with cloth napkins, not out in the wilderness. It is a growing company and I wish them much success.

On top of all these changes in their lives, they are expecting their first child. They are both so excited to bring the bundle of joy into this world. My niece has a beautiful glow on her face as she considers the treasure God is sending her way. They are going to make great parents.

As I look at the two of them, I reflected back on our beginnings. I remember our moves, our homes along the way, the job changes, and now my wife is retired and I am semi-retired. There were many steps along the way. We often found ourselves crying out to God for his wisdom as we made major life changes.

I continue to seek God’s direction as opportunities present themselves. Some opportunities seem perfect for me and yet the Lord closes the doors. While I don’t understand, later I can look back and see his hand guiding us. Each step requires faith.

Each day requires that I seek his face to determine if I am where He needs me to be. It’s not easy because I want to honor and please my father in heaven. He has given me peace that I will not miss his plans for my life. I just have to knock at every door that comes my way and trust him to open the right one for me.

There have been times in my life where I had a sense of God’s two-, five-, and even 10-year plan for my life. I liked the sense of knowing, but struggled when those times were coming to an end. In recent years, God has not revealed long-term plans. It has been more week-to-week or even day-to-day plans. I want to see the bigger picture, but I have to trust him with those plans.

When I wake up most days I have a plan, a list of things I need to accomplish before bed. It’s good to guide me, but I can’t allow my plans to trump God’s. Sometimes God needs me to set aside my plans in order to fulfill his purposes. Laundry can be pushed off to another day if a friend needs to talk. Gardening may need to wait if difficulties strike and my help is needed to let another know that God loves and cares for them.

I want to encourage you to allow God to order your steps whether we are talking long-term or what you think you need to do today. God sees a bigger picture and he may need to send you to someone who is going through a difficult time. Can he depend on you? The truth is each of us will find ourselves in need one day, so let’s make ourselves available to him each day. Today it might be your physical strength, tomorrow it might be your ears. Whatever he needs, let’s be ready and willing to serve. If we allow him to order our steps we will walk in his peace and be a blessing.

Doug Creamer has a new book at Amazon: EncouragingU: Summer Stories. Contact him at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041 or doug@dougcreamer.com .