Making Plans
By Brita Crouse
“‘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)
Ever since I was sixteen I knew.
It was when I realized counseling was what I wanted to do when I
grew up. So I set my sights on achieving this dream. During my freshman year of
college, I was led to a specific population to work with: traumatized children.
I was called crazy for wanting to focus on this group, but I knew that’s where
I was being called.
Throughout college and my “gap year,” I had several
opportunities to work with this population. I worked with the underprivileged,
the minority, the impoverished, the abused, the victimized, the homeless and
the parentless. Each experience was more empowering for me, lighting the fire
inside to help these kids realize the potential they possess.
So last year, when my parents asked what I thought about hosting
a seven-year-old orphan for the summer, you would think that I would be on
board. But I wasn’t. Wondering what twenty-three-year-old me was going to do
with seven-year-old him, I was pretty apprehensive.
It was with this attitude that I first greeted my now brother.
I’m so glad that God is a God of redemption and mercy - - because
I was in need of forgiveness for my attitude. Throughout the summer he was with
us, I learned about patience, compassion and unconditional love. In the middle
of his time here, I traveled to his home country and stayed at the orphanage
where he lived. This is where I met his younger brother. Meeting his younger
brother went much differently than when I met him. When I met the younger
brother, I knew he would be my
brother, too.
It’s amazing to see God’s plan play out before your eyes. How
would sixteen-year-old me have the foresight to know this would be my life in
eight years? That the passion He instilled in me all those years ago would be
so relevant and (hopefully) helpful to my family.
I’m thankful God took my once hesitant attitude and changed it
to one of joy. I get to love on these two boys. I get to help them realize
their true potential as people who are loved by our family, by our church
community, and by our God.
I couldn’t have imagined my life would turn out like this. It
makes me so grateful that God is in charge of our lives. His plans are so much
better than mine.
GOING DEEPER
1.
What plans are you trying to make in your life right now? How
can you be trusting God with your future?
FURTHER READING
Brita is currently working toward her Master’s in Counseling at
the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She has called Oakwood her home church
for the past seventeen years.
