Drawing the Line by Kate CroccoSample

A Future and a Hope

When I hear the word alignment, some things that come to mind for me are being more patient with myself, playing princesses with my girls free from the pressure of needing to be productive, speaking truth to those I love without sugarcoating anything, saying no way more than saying yes, having margin in my schedule to sit and read a book with a hot cup of tea while petting my dog, being open to conversation with a stranger after yoga class, having time to write and mail a handwritten letter, not checking the time every twenty minutes, and the best of all, starting my day in the Word with Jesus.

Alignment for you today may look more adventurous. No one way or another is wrong, and alignment will shift for each of us with the shifting of life’s seasons. But we all desire to have what alignment ultimately delivers, which is greater peace, fulfillment, and intentionality.

You will know you are in alignment when, even if life is hard or devastating, your hope in Jesus is not shaken. You may want to throw in the towel and doubt his plan, but you know that you will be okay in time, and even if you’re not okay yet, he is still working.

Write this verse where you can see it every day this week, as you think about living a life aligned with God’s boundaries for you: “‘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’” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).

It’s hard to feel like you’re giving up on a dream. But do you know what’s even harder? Waking up one day and realizing that the job or relationship or ministry you’ve been trying to make work for years is out of alignment with God’s pleasant boundaries for you—and that life would have been a lot easier if you had trusted that God’s plan is always better than yours because his plan has hope and a future.

Is there something in your life—big or small—that you have been forcing to make work lately? In what ways might you be out of alignment with God’s calling to you in this area?