Crazy and blessed

My crazy trend continued this morning in a new and unexpected way. I've been praying and trying to discern and do what God would have me do. I'm endeavoring to find joy and blessings in all things as I trust that God can work things for good; that in God's economy, nothing is wasted.

Today, I was struggling to make some basic decisions. A couple of my daily readings reminded me to pray even when I thought I knew the answer, but certainly to pray when the answer was unclear. My immediate choice that probably no one else can even fathom being a problem was whether to wash my hair. Even after I started running the water to let the shower heat up, I was unsure, because today's decision could have a noticeable effect on my morning time management the next two days. My thought was that I would not wash my hair today. I stepped into the shower, turning my thoughts to people for whom I have been praying. And the next thing I realized, I had soaked my hair as if I was preparing to shampoo it. So I went ahead and shampooed and conditioned. I'm not sure how that will affect my next two mornings of decisionmaking and actions. I trust it will all work fine.

Lynn Cowell, writing for Proverbs 31 ministries, wrote about having an opportunity to do two things she had been longing to do -- but they both came at the same time. She thought it would be impossible to do both and was preparing to decline one opportunity when she was reminded to pray specifically about it. After praying (and I'm guessing she also checked with some trusted friends or family members), she believed that, trusting in God for guidance and strength beyond her own, she could do both. So that's what she did.

She was glad she didn't stick with her initial thought: But why pray if I already knew the answer?

She referenced the accounts of Joseph in the story of Christ's birth:

I wonder if Joseph thought the same thing when he found out Mary, the one he was pledged to marry, was pregnant. Matthew 1:19 tells us, “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (NIV). Joseph thought it over, and according to their law, this was the best way to handle the sticky situation.

Then … his plans were interrupted. “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’” (Matthew 1:20). Apparently, Joseph had not acted immediately upon his impulse, but had created time and space in his life to hear from God.

Through the angel’s message, Joseph discovered things were not really as they appeared! Though others would not understand the why behind his decision, Joseph would keep moving forward and make Mary his wife.

I'm grateful I don't have to know the answers, even when I pray. I can act based on my best understanding of what God would have me do, and when that's not clear, I can trust that whatever action I take will fit into God's plan. Just do it. Trust God. And thank Him.