Man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

Planning is pretty much second nature to me. It’s in my DNA; I plan; I prepare, and I get things done. I had a thought recently, though. The most wonderful things in my life are things I didn’t plan for; they are the things I prayed for! I was lonely when I first moved out of my parents house, and I prayed for love; it didn’t matter to me what form it came in. Then one day, a kitten hopped right up to me and decided she wanted to be my forever companion. I prayed for God to reveal to me my purpose. Then I had a dream that inspired me to create a blog. One year later, my book, “The Gift of a Dozen Reasons” was inspired by an idea from a friend.

As a nursing student, my passion to become a NICU nurse was what got me through school. Weeks after passing the NCLEX, I got an interview at the largest NICU unit in my state. I got the job. Everything I had planned was coming to fruition, but still I felt incomplete.

A few months of working at the NICU, I realized I wasn’t meant to be there. The truth is, if I had even asked God what His plans were, I probably would have never applied for that job to begin with. I didn’t care about following His footsteps; I was concerned with creating a path of my own.

After quitting that job, I fell into private duty home care, and I loved it. I loved knowing what to expect, only having one patient at a time, and also still being able to work with babies from time to time. I love babies, and I deeply missed working with them after quitting my job in the NICU.

The very last private duty case I was on was with a little boy just five years old. I loved that job. One day, the nursing agency informed me that my patient was no longer requiring an RN, and his case would be switching over to LPN staffing. This was terrible news to me. I loved my job; I felt safe, and I loved my patient and his mother.

One of the last days I spent at the home of this little boy, his mother suggested that I try out the PPEC, a daycare for medically fragile children where her son would be moving to until they could find an LPN. I agreed, not knowing where else to turn.

I prayed about this job, a lot. As a much more spiritually mature adult compared to who I was when I graduated nursing school, I find myself praying about everything, asking humbly for God to direct me, asking Him to walk ahead of me so I can follow in His footsteps.

I’ve learned that praying trumps planning; praying about something is more beneficial than any planning we could ever do. We can plan for something until we are blue in the face, but until we have prayed about it; it’s meaningless.

God puts desires inside of us for a reason, but only He can decide when we are truly ready to live them out. It’s funny how God works sometimes. I came full circle and soon became the nurse to work specifically with the babies at the center. Nearly two and a half years later, here I am, grateful His footsteps led me back to the place where I belong.