That wasn't in the program...

This weekend I was blessed to be able to attend a Hearts at Home conference.  I hadn't ever heard of it before, but boy, am I glad that I went.  As the weekend went on, I realized that I was picking up on a couple of themes...but were they the ones listed in the program?

Theme 1 - Motherhood is hard, but it's sooooo wonderful once you're an empty nester.

Many of the speakers were mothers with experience.  They had so much experience, in fact, that their children have now grown and moved away.  Not one of them wasted any time in stating that yes, they made it through the most difficult years, but the best years were here!  Their children were gone!  Really?  How many years is that for me?

Theme 2 - "It may not be well with my circumstances, but it is well with my soul."

Even though I chose sessions with varying themes, it was almost uncanny that each featured a speaker who had been in some sort of battle with a cancer or an equally difficult opponent.  The speakers talked of how they battled their opponents, dealt with grief, lost some battles, and won some battles. 

And, without fail, each speaker talked of the complete faithfulness of God and the very real presence of God throughout their journeys.  As I listened to the stories, I was reminded of a C.S. Lewis quote that I came across, "We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."

This is where I am at!  I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that God has a perfect plan for my life, that He has a reason for it, and that He will be with me throughout every step of it but I'm kind of scared of how much it might hurt. 

One of the speakers, Jennifer Rothschild, spoke to my heart with this quote:  "It may not be well with my circumstances, but it is well with my soul."  It might be hard- the hardest thing a person has to go through, and it may not fit at all with where I'm at or where I think I'm going, but God's leading me, He's with me, and it's well with my soul.