LIFESTYLE, STYLE

A Bouquet Cut From My Garden

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Happy Monday, friends! I have this tiny suspicion that spring is actually coming this week as I glance at my weather app. That is a true reason to be joyful. As always, my mom comes through as the best “creative director” a girl could have with such a fun springy, flowery shoot to show off everyone’s favorite Zara shoes. I’ve linked the whole outfit below for your shopping needs, but I wanted to share some deep cuts today with you as you read on. Sometimes a topic just pops into my head and I have to write it down immediately. This one came to me on the train and I ran home to type it all out to share with you guys. As you read, I challenge you to share this with a friend who might need this message today. You are loved. You are cared for. And you are held in the ultimate Creative Director’s hand.

A Constant Surprise Party

I constantly think that I’m going to be surprised. If Cam tells me that he got stuck in traffic and won’t be at my house for another hour, I assume that he is telling me that so that he can surprise me by being there instead. Maybe that’s the true heart of an optimist. Constantly thinking that something really great is about to happen. I remember in high school, we went on a family vacation to Ecuador and our suitcases were stolen out of our rental car. For some reason, I truly believed in my heart that we were going to show up at our next hotel and they would be there waiting for us. Like some kind of robber surprise party.

If something is not going well in my life or there is a problem to be solved or a “next step” to be waiting on, I think to myself that maybe it has been solved and the people involved in the situation are waiting to surprise me with the good news, so that I won’t have to worry or think about it anymore! This is not some weird fantastical expectation that I have developed, but a way that I have always been! And it is something that I like about myself, especially as a believer in Christ.

We, humans, think we have our lives in the tight grasp of our own fist. We will get this job, marry this person, move to this town, have this many kids. We could be “surprised” at any moment when something out of “our perfect plan” doesn’t work out. He breaks up with you. You don’t get the job. You can’t have children. Not a fun surprise. It’s even less fun when we thought we were controlling it all, yet in this moment we have no power to change our circumstances. Everything spirals out of our grasp.

Have you ever planned a surprise for someone? A party? A trip? Or even just picked out a special present for their birthday? Think about the expectations you have as the surprise-r. You totally don’t want them to find out. You want every detail to be in line. Sometimes you drop hints, but not big ones, for fear of ruining it. You get super giddy thinking about it and when the person make an oblivious comment, you laugh because they have no idea and that’s awesome. Maybe the person you are surprising asks to hang out on the day of the party and you have to tell them no, hurt their feelings a little, for the sake of the surprise. The surprise-ee is so sure of what they are going to do that day, their plans are set, and all of the sudden everything changes.

He Brings Good, Good Things

What if we willingly gave our loving heavenly Father the pleasure, the joy, of surprising us? Good or bad, we would be in total peace, knowing that He orchestrated all of the details and we don’t have to worry. Our lives could be changed in an instant, but it wouldn’t matter, knowing full well that it’s literally “all good” with a perfect God who knew the story of our lives before the earth was formed.

I want you to know that I am not speaking from the position of someone who hasn’t experienced total upset and heartbreak. In the last two years, my family has experienced a sudden death, a stroke, open heart surgery, a loss of a job, the turmoil of cancer, and the pain of separation in a family. Ouch. Where are my good surprises, Lord? But wow, have we seen flowers grow out of graves! Literally new life, in the form of two beautiful baby boys. A greenhouse built as a space to commune with family and friends. The most marvelous surprises of all. He brings good, good things.

I don’t really relate to the label “optimist”, but I do have a steady, loyal drumbeat reminder in my mind that I cannot sway from:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13
So I patiently wait for my next surprise party. Cause gosh darn it, I always think one is coming 🙂
xoxo,
jojo
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16 Comments

  5. …and now I realize why you were trying to ‘surprise’ Daddy and I by arriving too early! … But God had a perfect plan to keep you and that big laugh that flowed out of me put until His perfect timing for your birth! You continue to be a reflection of your birth verse ” Every good and perfect gift comes from above”..James 1:17 You shine His love from the tip of those sparkly toes to the top of your blonde head! xoxo i love u

  8. Love your outfit and heart and this post! Although not necessarily in that order 😘