Daily Devotional

It was spring break of my junior year, March 2022. My long-distance girlfriend, Lauren, was flying to my hometown in Dallas to meet my family for the first time. We were midway through the week, and everything was going great. My family loved Lauren, and we were all getting along splendidly. The two of us were enjoying the rare chance to spend time together in person. But there was one big conversation we still needed to have that week: timeline.

Lauren and I had established that we were dating with the intent of seeing whether we wanted to get married. Lauren would be graduating from her college in California in May, and with major life decisions on the horizon, we needed some idea of when we would get married, if things continued in that direction. I had given this a lot of thought over the past couple of months, and as we walked around my neighborhood, I laid out what I thought was the most logical plan. There were too many obstacles to getting married before I finished college, so that wasn’t really an option. Since I knew Lauren really wanted a fall wedding, we were looking at probably October 2023—a year and a half out. My girlfriend smiled, nodded, and then went silent for about ten minutes. “Did I scare her? Is she wanting to break up?” were the thoughts running through my head. Then, with a sweet smile, she simply said, “That sounds like a really long time. Could we get married sooner?”

Married sooner? I felt like my head exploded. That would mean leaving my dorm and finding an apartment for us, which seemed nearly impossible. It would mean both of us would have to find jobs in middle-of-nowhere Michigan. Everything that was familiar and comfortable about my life at college would change. And Lauren would have to relocate across the country to a place where she knew nobody. My head said this plan was risky, uncertain, absolutely insane. But… what if we could make it work?

I suggested we stop and take ten minutes to pray by ourselves and seek the Lord’s direction. As I prayed on that park bench, the second half of Proverbs 3:5 seemed to be on a loop in my head: “do not lean on your own understanding.” It was as if God was telling me, “Based on common sense, on your limited knowledge, yes, this idea seems crazy. But will you trust Me and My plan for your life, even in the face of the unknown?”

Lauren reached the same conclusion in her prayers, and we decided to get married that fall. The Lord blessed our step of faith, and everything else fell into place. Both sets of parents were fully on board with our plan. The Lord provided an opportunity for me to work for my church in Michigan in exchange for a very nice apartment. Lauren got the first job she applied for in Michigan and loved it there. My school schedule, our finances, finding friends for Lauren—the Lord worked out every possible concern I had that fateful Spring Break day. In October of 2022, we celebrated a beautiful wedding and spent eight happy months in Michigan before moving back here to Fresno.

Had I trusted my own judgment instead of the Lord’s leading, my life at this moment would be totally different. Ten months of marriage have changed me, grown me, and blessed me beyond measure, and I’m so thankful that the Lord altered my timeline. Had we gone with my original plan, I would have also missed out on the blessing of our precious baby girl, who was born last week. God’s plan for my life was vastly richer, more fulfilling, more abundant than anything I could have imagined. So if you face a situation like mine, where what God is calling you to do seems counterintuitive, don’t lean on your own understanding. God’s way is always the best way.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.