I enjoy having things planned out and I guess I can sometimes be a bit of a control freak. When it comes to things that I know I can control at least. My time, my friendships and relationships, my outfit, my class schedule, when and where I spend my money, what I want to be when I grow up, the list continues. When I have a plan and that plan gets completely thrown out the window and squished like a bug, I begin to panic a bit. Because I had my whole life planned out! Pinterest even helped me! What on earth is going to happen now?

In high school I had a plan for my life and I was proud of myself for having some of those long term plans. I knew what career I wanted, what kind of guy I wanted to find, what size of family I wanted to have, and ideas for what kind of house I wanted to live in. I had a direction that I knew I wanted to be going and I prayed and prayed that things would turn out how I had hoped, but since high school and while I have been in college, the things that I once wanted have begun to change.

I have been extremely fortunate in the ways that God has worked my ideas into His ultimate plans for my life. He has blessed me in immense ways that I never would have imagined. But guess what, not everything has gone the way that I had planned. Whether the plans and the things I thought I could control did or did not happen, I have realized something that has been pretty pivotal in my life.

I am okay with God’s plan.

No matter how hard I have fallen on my face, no matter how many tears I have cried, I know with my whole heart that God’s plans for my life are greater than anything I could have come up with on my own.

Whether you’re in high school, maybe a graduating senior, a college freshmen, beginning your time in the career field that you studied years for, and more, I have a secret for you. It’s okay to not have a plan. It’s okay to feel stuck in the spot that you’re in. But I also have good news! When you put your faith in God and you trust His plan for your life, your worry, stress, pain, fears, and sadness can all be thrown away.

I have prayed and prayed and continued to pray that God use me for His good. I know that if my plans are completely nowhere to be seen, that God will have something even better that I was unable to see in that moment. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 16:9 (ESV). “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” I know that when my heart is set on something that I want to happen, it all depends on the direction that God guides me and how much faith I have in what He has planned.

One of my all-time favorite songs is Trust It All by Brett Stanfill.

“…With every breath, with every word I speak

With every step, with every heartbeat

Jesus let it be for You

For You only

My whole life, all for Your glory

My life is in Your hands

I trust it all, I trust it all to You

My dreams and all my plans

I trust it all, I trust it all

Forever I am changed, I'll never be the same

Because of Your love, because of Your love

Forever I am changed, I'll never be the same

Because of Your love, because of You Jesus

For all my days

God, You are my guide

I give You all

My heart is open wide

Jesus let it be for You, for You only

My whole life all for Your glory…”

WOW. Even just seeing the words written out gives me a sense of peace. You have got to look this song up! These simplistic words are the words of a prayer that I say often to God and I have to remind myself often with. Sometimes it comes down to not only knowing that God’s plan is better than my own but also believing it with every inch of who I am that I trust it all to Him.

I’m not sharing this with you to express how great I am in always trusting God’s plan but I am sharing this with you because of all of the times that I have failed to trust God’s plan. I have learned a lot from those moments and I have a feeling that a few of you may relate. The moments that I have felt the most peace have been the ones that I have put my full trust in God. These were the moments that I knew I had some hard decisions to make but I did not have to make them alone. I am far from perfect and I have made more mistakes than I count but I know that God loves me and wants the very best for me, and I know that He wants the very best for you.

The one verse that I hold pretty near and dear to my heart is Isaiah 6:8 (ESV). “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.””

My prayer is that whoever is reading this right now, wherever you are at in your life, that you trust it all to the God who hand crafted you with so much thought and so much purpose. I hope that you use Isaiah 6:8 as a daily prayer and maybe even a call to action. No matter what you’re doing, no matter where you’re at, “send me” is a simple phrase that will give you the opportunity to align your plans with God’s plans for your life.

Remember, it’s okay to fall on your face and to cry a few tears when things don’t go as expected. Maybe you fail a class, you don’t get accepted into your dream college, your family is a mess, you had a breakup, or realized your dream job was out of reach. Put your faith in God and in His plans, and trust it all to Him. God will use you in phenomenal ways that you never could have imagined as long as you allow Him to be a part of your life. Allow Him to send you where He wants you to go.