I have a plaque on the wall in my kitchen that reads “Bloom where God plants you.” This morning that struck me as not quite something that rings true for me right now. Where I am is not necessarily God’s fault or God’s plan. I have free will (that’s what makes me a human being, I think). However, what I am totally convinced of is this: Wherever I am, whatever I have done or been, God’s response is “I can work with that.”
There are relationships in my life that I question whether getting into them was God’s will or God’s plan. I’ve held resentments about them for a long time. But once I admit this unpleasant reality to myself and God, we have a place to start to make things right and better.
There are places I’ve been, things I’ve done, that would never have been had I always lived and trusted. Again, I have a very strong sense that God says something along the lines of: “Now, that wouldn’t have been my first choice, but we can work with this. You can still learn to love, and forgive and grow and heal, even from this spot.”
And that’s a part of my Lenten journey for 2008 — be honest about where and who I am, and give the relationship with God a chance to work for good in all things. And remember that God draws straight with crooked lines.