Peanut Butter and Jelly

     Peanut butter is one of my favorite things - a true comfort food for me. I put it on crackers and have it with milk, love to have it with apples as well as celery and, yes, a secret I will share now - I have been known to occasionally eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon. I also love jelly and yes there is great joy in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which I consider a real treat. Now, of course, the third ingredient of this discussion is bread - very necessary for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Good white bread - soft and fresh - yum!
     So, why on earth am I telling you all of this? - so I could tell you this, of course! Each of these ingredients are wonderful by themselves and stand alone quite nicely -just as each verse in God's word stands alone quite nicely and gives joy and comfort to our spirits. But what happened when I suddenly found myself combining three of them this week really had an impact on me. Let me explain.
     Jeremiah 29:11 says God knows the plans He has for me - plans for a future - for good. This has been a verse I have clung to over the last 11 months. It has been a true "comfort food" for me. Recently I remembered Psalm 139 that tells me the Father Himself knit me together in my mother's womb and knew me before anyone else in the world did. Then there is Ecclesiastes 3 which speaks of a time for everything under the heavens.
     So how does this "recipe" come together in this "time" for me - When a knitter selects a project it has been in her "mind" before it actually started. She thinks carefully about what it will be used for - how strong it must be and then she goes about selecting just the right material to use for the project. Much care and thought is given to this selection and once the project begins care is necessary for all the stitches to be correct and precise. She has a "plan" for her project. She takes the time required for the project to be complete and well-made.
     My Father knit me carefully full well knowing that He had a plan for my life and that my life would include all those seasons mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3 - especially now - the "time" to weep and the "time" to mourn. But wait it doesn't end there - it  also says that there is a "time" to laugh and a "time" to dance - all in God's plan for my life - plans for a future and a hope- plans for good. God knew I would enter into this present season. He also knows that in due time I will enter into the next season - because He has it all planned.  I need not fret that I will be unable to withstand the sorrow or that grief will win. I need not fret that loneliness will overtake me. I need not fret that there is nothing in my future now that I am alone.
     I am fearfully and wonderfully made, knitted together by the Father's own hand, designed with a specific plan and purpose to go through all the seasons of my life.
     As are each of you dear readers - know this - be at peace for He loves you so.