Embrace the Place
It is almost eight months since my move to Austin. I arrived to my place with no hot water in an icy, snow-covered city. But that was a blessing to have water at all. The pipes had frozen and busted in the building. The other residents were trailblazers for the rest of us who moved in after them. They were without water and electricity altogether, but they embraced their place as neighbors who braved it all together. Now those people are besties here. They continue to “embrace their place”.
I’m in a sweet season with my youngest grandsons. I get to see after them when their parents go out of town. I pick up the youngest one from school in the afternoons and the best, most hilarious and honest conversations arise. It makes my day! I get to be their rowdy cheerleader at their football and baseball games. Soon, they will be on their own. Who knew, that at this season of life that God would afford me the opportunity to “embrace this place” with all out gusto with them? Oh, God did!
That term “embrace the place” is a good one to make as a life statement. God knows where we’re at and He has a plan for us to fulfill in this place. I know God has a hand in times that seem coincidental, but nothing with God is happenstance. Remember the little shepherd boy, David, who was anointed king? David’s dad, Jesse, paraded all his sons in front of Samuel because he thought one of them would be chosen the next king. But he left David attending his sheep in the fields. After all he was JUST a shepherd boy. But God knew where David was and he was the ONE being prepared to lead God’s people. It was nearly 15 years between the time that he was anointed king and when he actually became king. God worked the details out for David during that waiting period and He works out the details in our lives, so we might as well “embrace the place”.
Could it be that you’re ready to take a job outside the home instead of having to balance all the mommy duties, but where you’re at right now is part of God’s plan for you in this season? Embrace the place. God knows where you are. Could it be that you’ve been overlooked, like David, for a leadership position, but it’s part of God’s plan for you to stay right there a little longer? Embrace the place. God has the best plan carved out for you. Could it be that the loan that fell through on your dream home was a part of God’s plan? Embrace the place. He has just the perfect home in His plans, and it will show up right on time.
Yes, our God who knows everything about everything – our past, our present and our future — has “THE PLANS to prosper us, and not harm us. He has plans to give us hope and a great future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). So let’s “embrace the place” we’re in right now. Embracing the place is being faithful in this place that He’s designed for us today. When we realize that God knows where we’re at, and at the RIGHT time and RIGHT place, He will reposition us. In the meantime, we TRUST HIM — we’re in preparation…..so let’s embrace THIS place!