"plans to give you hope and a future"

"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

these words have been heavy on my heart the past few days...for reasons that matter none to most of you reading this; yet chances are decent that if you stop and really read them you will find some relevance.  i have them on a sticky note attached to my computer, always visible, always a sign of reassurance when i need them.  a very good friend has them tatooed on his arm, a simple reminder that there is something bigger than this very moment...that God Himself has laid out a plan for us greater than anything we can imagine in our darkest hours.  i think i love this verse for a couple reasons...one, i love the idea that there is some sort of plan for me...that God cares enough about me to lay out a roadmap for my life - one that, if i somehow figure out how to follow it, could be amazing!  and, two, i love the words "plans to give you hope and a future"...see, there have been times...yes, times - plural...when i've had absolutely no idea where to go next, what steps to take, what direction to turn; and ultimately saw no future because i felt so completely trapped in the moment i was presently experiencing.  was i depressed?  maybe a little.  heartbroken?  for sure.  scared, confused, exhausted, guarded, uncertain of nothing other than the desperation i felt in those moments?  yes...all of those things and more...  but, it always got better, always.  no matter if it was a mess i created myself or one that was thrown at me with zero warning; i somehow always came out of those moments stronger, wiser, and with a greater appreciation for the good days.  i have to believe that it's those plans, that will of His for my life, that LOVE He somehow so graciously gives me (even when i can guarantee i don't deserve it) that shows me hope and gives me strength to see the future I am trying very hard to trust He is laying out for me.  do i understand it?  no.  do i need neon flashing lights?  uh, yeah.  do i shake my head on an almost daily basis trying my hardest to figure out just where it is that He is leading me?  more than i'd like to admit.  there are some things in my life right now that i'm trying hard to figure out...funny, i've been told that i have the gift of discernment (the ability to grasp and comprehend that which is obscure)...yet, not when it comes to my own life.  frustrating beyond belief.  i just can't understand what He's trying to tell me right now and i feel like i'm some sort of detective puting together clues and there is one missing...of course, it's the most important one.  but, maybe that's why i keep hearing these words "for i know the plans i have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"...maybe that's His way of telling me to be patient...to wait Him out...that in His perfect time He will show me those plans and only then will i be ready for them.  *sigh*  so much easier said than done.  but, i'm trying.  until then...i'm focusing on plans...hope...future...