Of Shower Curtains and Toilet Seat Covers...

I've been thinking a lot lately about the future.  It only makes sense for someone at my current location on the timeline of life that the future would take up a lot of my attention.  There are college decisions, career choices, living arrangements...it feels like my entire life is up for decision right this moment.  How can that possibly be decided in a few months?

So I've decided that the thing I'm going to spend my most attention on in the next few months is my shower curtain.  Yes, that says shower curtain.  You're not losing your mind, or your sight for that matter.  Shower curtain.  I'm going to have my own bathroom, which I've never had before, and my very own shower and, you know what?  My own toilet.  So I'm going to get my own shower curtain and my own toilet seat cover and I somehow feel like that will make every other decision in my life a little easier.  I will get the most beautiful shower curtain that not only provides privacy, but also an undeniable sense of fashion.  And because I'll have made an intelligent choice in shower curtain, I'll have faith that the rest of my decisions about life will work out just as well.

Yeah, right.

Although I still want a beautiful shower curtain and a great-looking toilet seat cover for my bathroom, I've learned that they're just part of the big picture.  If I put so much emphasis on getting just the right shower curtain or toilet seat cover, I'm going to miss out on the other wonderful things, like soap dishes and rugs!  And then my enjoyment of having my very own bathroom, all to myself, is stolen because of the stress I've put on myself to make these simple decisions.

That's how life can be.  We can get so caught up in trying to plan everything out, trying our hardest to make our lives what we want them to be, that we lose sight of the liberating freedom and joy that God intended life to hold for His children.  Just like beautiful shower curtains and toilet seat covers can enrich a bathroom, the decisions facing me can enrich my life and I want nothing more than to pick the most beautiful path.  The one filled with the least heartache, hard times, and pain. 

But just like I have to simply trust my judgement when it comes to choosing shower curtains, toilet seat covers, rugs, and soap dishes...I have to simply trust that God has it all under control.  That no matter what path I choose, He's with me every step of the way.  And if, for whatever reason, the path I choose leads me astray from the path He's intended for me, He'll lead me and guide me to the right path again. 

God's already designed my beautiful life.  It's nothing I have to worry about.  Now I just need a shower curtain...