There is a verse in the bible, Job 1:21, that people often quote when talking about times of tragedy. In the NIV translation, it reads, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” For whatever reason I always remember the phrase as the old-fashioned version, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.” Giveth and taketh. That’s really been the season of my life lately. Good and bad. Ebb and flow. Here and there. We’ve been enduring a lot of uncertainty as a family, and of course being a small business owner uncertainty is the name of the game. But I’ve started to realize a pattern, and I’ve simultaneously felt the urge to write about it.
Every few months, I will get to a point in planning out blog posts, or working on client projects, where things sort of dry up. It seems we’re coming to the end of a tunnel, and I’m not sure what’s on the other side. But then, just as I’m about to give up hope, my inbox will be peppered with new business, my blog calendar will miraculously fill up again with exciting collaborations, and all is right in the world. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, but the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.
I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s almost as if God is asking me to trust Him each time. Trust that He’s got me with this business. Trust that even if we don’t make it to next year, it’s because something better is right around the corner. And if not, He is still good. That might be the toughest part of all for this control freak. It’s been multiple cycles of this high and low, feast and famine, and yet at the end of each dry spell I still have a moment where I realize I’m trying to do it by myself. It’s not until I give up control and give it over to Him that the opportunities come flowing in again. We’re stubborn, we humans. 🙂 This human especially.
But in the grand scope of things, the plans I have for myself are nothing compared to what he’s come up with, seemingly out of nowhere. Opportunities I wasn’t even searching for, and He saw fit to put in my path. There are some very, very exciting things around the bend that I can’t wait to share with you all. God is good, all the time. When He gives and when He takes, He’s got your best interest at the heart of it. And the more I learn to be at peace with that, the more I find it to be true.
XO,
A
