God's Plan is Always Best

 Hi there!

For my first post, I wanted to share a little about my journey. I grew up in Monroe, Iowa, and I was homeschooled. I absolutely loved being homeschooled, and that allowed me to pursue my career in horse training at a young age. I began training horses full time at age 14, and dreamed of  working with performance horses, specifically reining horses.

I trained horses for quite a few years, and slowly felt my passion for it draining. But, my identity was grounded in it, so I kept going. After graduating high school, my best friend and I decided to go to a ministry event in Colorado for 2 weeks, and that turned out to be the best decision ever! It was at the point in my life where I was struggling with my identity, and I did not know how to change my path. There at this event, I had a small group leader that I was able to open up to about my identity, and she pointed me to Christ. Even though I was raised in the faith, I did not put my identity in Jesus.

Once I returned home, I felt a lot better, but still struggled. About 2 years later, I had the opportunity to accept a job offer working for a reining horse trainer in Whitesboro, Texas. Leading up to that offer, I was at my lowest of lows. I could not explain my sadness, unmotivation and overall feeling of being lost. I finally came out to my mom that I thought I might have depression. I was so scared she would be disappointed in me, but she was the exact opposite. She thanked me for being honest and said we were going to get me help. I started going to a Christian councilor, where I received amazing encouragement and advice. I started to reconnect with God and I was doing so much better. 

Back to my job offer, I ended up accepting it, and 2 weeks later my little Honda Accord and I drove 12 hours down and moved in. For the first few days it was great, but after long and hard days getting home around 9 or 10 at night, I started getting very lonely and missed my family and friends so much. At that point, I also realized that my dream was not what I thought it was or what I wanted to be apart of...and that is a story for another time. Many things transpired while I was there, but the biggest thing I realized, was that all I had was Jesus. I spent so many nights crying and praying. All I had was Jesus in those days, and I truly decided to live my life for Him. No matter what I lose in this life, I still have my Savior who longes for a relationship with me. He does not care what others think of me, and desires for me to find my identity in Him, a child of God. 

Turns out, He had a better plan in store for me, because about a month and a half after returning home, I met the man who would become my husband! What a plan he had for me! 

God is still writing my story, and I have learned that His plan is so much greater than anything I could imagine. The path may not always be smooth and painless, but when you choose to put your trust in the one who created you and seek comfort in Him, a peace that comes in unexplainable. 

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me, I can't wait to continue to share what God is teaching me!

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him." - Psalm 28:7