My husband and I are dreamers. We enjoy setting goals and achieving them. We came into our marriage with a shared vision for our life, and we were hustling to make it a reality.
About a year ago, our vision blurred.
A third baby, an illness, and sudden job uncertainty were just a few jostles that made the room spin. We could no longer see where we were going. We couldn’t decipher the way. We sensed the Lord was asking us to move in a new direction, but we weren’t sure where. Or how. Or why. We were willing; but what about everything we had built?
What about our vision?
Our knees kissed the velvet pad of the kneeler at the foot of our bed—the same one we used in our wedding—and we prayed a most honest prayer. I cried a lot. We asked Jesus a lot of questions.
Nothing was solved. No direct answers were given. Our struggles didn’t vanish. But we rose with confident hearts because we had laid down our own vision and asked the Lord to give us His.
While our dreams were beautiful, holy, surrendered, and for God, they were still ours. And this time, we wanted His dreams for us, His vision, His plan, mission, and wisdom.
Today’s First Reading encourages seeing what God sees and knowing what He knows. Israel is commended, and they are compared to the towering cedars. But why are the cedars impressive? Because they are planted by the Lord (Numbers 24:6). Balaam’s “eye is true” because he has embraced God’s vision. When we allow God to do the cultivating, we live in abundance (see Numbers 24:7).
I want the ways of the Lord over my ways (see Psalm 25:4). That requires deeper surrender, greater trust, and more profound humility.
Maybe your vision is blurred right now. Maybe you’ve lost your way, and you’re waiting for the Lord to teach you His paths. Let’s lay down our vision in exchange for His. Let’s be enraptured, with eyes unveiled, to see what the Almighty sees.
Let’s lay down our vision in exchange for His. // @to_the_heightsClick to tweet
Consider this surrender novena to begin the process of letting His vision guide you.
Olivia Spears lives in Kentucky, where sweet tea and bourbon flow like milk and honey. She holds degrees in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and works from home while enjoying her children and husband. She curates relevant and inspiring content for Catholic women as Blog Manager. She is the narrator of Set a Fire, And Hay Became Holy, and All She Had as well as a contributing author for Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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