We Are the Woman at the Well
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Someone recently reached out to me and asked me to give a talk on the topic of “When life doesn’t go your way,” and it sparked some thoughts about how that has morphed in my life.
Much of my life has not really gone my way. Everything I thought I would be, do and have certainly didn’t happen on my timetable or the way I thought it would. I had a different vision for my life and who I would become. That’s not to say God hasn’t brought me some of the desires of my heart, but it has taken a longer and more winding journey than I thought it would.
There are many responses we can take when life doesn’t go our way. On one hand, we can grieve. We can get angry. We can get bitter. We can walk away from faith. We can push to get our way on our terms. On the other hand, we can come closer to faith. We can hope. We can find comfort in God’s promises. We can accept what we’re given. We can surrender to the will of God.
We can even find blessedness and happiness in whatever poverty God is giving us at the moment. Because let’s face it, poverty means a lack, and when life doesn’t go our way, we are experiencing a lack of some kind.
Looking back, I probably experienced a mix of those, but what won out in the end was faith and God’s will. I eventually chose and accepted not my dream, but God’s dream for me. But even still today I wrestle with God’s dream vs. mine in the day to day, as my life isn’t over yet. I’ve just seen enough of His work to know that His is better than mine. He knows what He’s doing.
If you find yourself in a similar spot, you may be experiencing all of these things too, and that’s OK. It hurts to grieve our dreams and the way we thought it would be. It’s hard to be in a lack of something we very much desire. Let yourself feel those things, and remember the God who has compassion on you and your situation. Ultimately, I hope you also let your faith and God’s will win out in the end.
Maybe you too will be a witness for someone on what it means to walk with God, stay with God, and even thrive with God when things don’t go your way.
Katie Zalany lives in Cleveland Ohio. She is a Third Order Secular Franciscan (OFS), spiritual director, benefits/wellness leader, certified health and life coach, and volunteer. She is the creator of the ministry Women in Waiting | Made for Fruitfulness and is a published author. Her writing interests and focus areas include Gospel reflections, Franciscan spirituality, women's spirituality, prayer, and integration of faith and daily living.
