Fully Known

 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12

A few months before meeting Logan, I had gone through a terrible break up. My dear friend had shared these words with me that carried me through to better days “The will of the Lord is not for the sake of our own understanding, but for our ultimate good.” I wrote it down on my bathroom mirror, read it every morning and every night, asking the Lord to instill His will into my own. That I might let go of what I thought would be my future, and surrender it to His provision and care.

Surrendering your plan is difficult because you believe it’s best. You don’t want the worst for yourself. You hope and dream for the best. So when it doesn’t go according to your plan, you’re left to ask “What good will come out of this failure/change?” We lean on our own understanding in order to determine something as “good.”

But we see in part. We understand in part. It is not our understanding of God’s plan that deems it “good.” God’s plan is good because we are unable to understand the holiness, sanctity, and perfection of His will. Our lack of understanding, proves His will as good. Our inability to understand fully, keeps Him as our caretaker and us as His beloved. It acknowledges His righteousness and reiterates our gift of salvation. As we love in part, we are fully loved. As we know in part, we are fully known. Who better to carry us through the future than the God who fully knows and loves His creation.

Fast forward three years later from the break up, and I wrote down the same quote on a different bathroom mirror for my sister’s heartbreak. I had taken the picture just because I thought it looked “neat.” Little did I know, my proposal was only hours away. In deep heartbreak, I had written these words with great yearning and aching for understanding God’s will. And in His time, I wrote those words as an encouragement to my sister, as I rejoiced over the goodness of His will.

We see in part. We know in part. Because He sees fully. And He loves fully. Our ability to understand and plan for our future is like that foggy bathroom mirror. The details are blurry, but the one and only view that remains clear is that “The will of the Lord is not for the sake of our own understanding, but for our ultimate good.”

Amen.