When I Don't Understand... I Remember.



I didn’t plan to write about this today.

But sometimes the timing of things feels… intentional in a way I can’t quite explain.

Right now, I’m in one of the stranger seasons I’ve had in a long time. The calendar is full. The days are long. There’s always somewhere to be, something to do, someone who needs something. All this is life... but at the same time… things are happening in the background that seem to cast a shadow on it all... specifically things that I don’t understand.

Situations are unfolding.
Feelings are being hurt.
Hearts are being tested.
Faithfulness and integrity are being questioned.

It feels like an unexpected battle — one I didn’t see coming and honestly wouldn’t have chosen.
And yet… somewhere in the middle of all of that, I have peace.

Not because everything makes sense.
Not because I have answers.
But because I remember.

I remember a season not that long ago when I was asking God for something I didn’t even fully believe possible.

In October of 2019, my family lost someone dear to us. It was sudden and awful! I felt like the world was spinning faster and faster, and I was struggling to keep up. If you’ve ever walked through grief, you know that feeling. Everything just keeps moving, and you’re still trying to catch your breath.

That Christmas, I prayed something very specific. I asked God to let the world slow down.
I remembered Joshua and the day the sun stood still in the sky long enough for him to win the battle with the Amorites. I wasn't praying for the day ... just long enough for me to process my state of mind. To feel what I hadn’t had time to feel. To win my own personal battle with grief. 
I didn’t know what the answer to that prayer would look like.

Then January came.
Suddenly… everything stopped.
The calendar emptied.
There was nowhere to go.
Nothing to attend.
No expectations to meet.
We were just home.
At first, it felt strange.

But as the weeks went on and the weather warmed, something shifted in me. I remember sitting on my front porch with a cup of tea, watching my kids as little figures out by the pond. The hummingbirds came back to their feeders. The seasons stayed on track. The sun still rose and set right on time. And for the first time in months… I felt peace.
Not because everything was okay. But because I finally had space to breathe.

My kids weren’t underfoot all day — not because we sent them away, but because God had given us land for them to roam. Homeschooling wasn’t overwhelming — because I’m a teacher. My husband wasn’t stressed — because he was home, present, and even had time to work on things that had been sitting undone for years. My house went through its normal annual purge… but without urgency. There was nowhere else to be. 

Slowly, gently… I exhaled.

Now hear me — I did not pray for a pandemic. I would never wish the pain and suffering that came with it on anyone. But I did pray for my world to slow down. And somehow, in a way I never could have imagined… it did.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…”
— Ephesians 3:20

That verse used to feel big and exciting to me. Now it feels… humbling.
Sometimes God answers our prayers in ways we don’t recognize at first. Sometimes His answers are wrapped in circumstances we don’t understand. 

This is what I’m holding onto right now. In this season — the busy, confusing, stretching one — I don’t have the answers.

I don’t understand why things are unfolding this way. I don’t see the full picture.

I think about Job. When everything in his life fell apart, he asked God for answers. He wanted reasons. He wanted understanding. God didn’t give him explanations. Instead, God reminded Job of who He is. Not to dismiss him — but to anchor him.



“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?”
— Job 38:4
It is our reminder that even when things don’t make sense… 
God is still God.
He is still good.
AND He is still on the throne.

Maybe that’s what I need. Not answers. Not explanations. Just reminders!

Scripture tells us:
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:18
And:
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:17

That doesn’t mean what we’re walking through feels light. It just means it’s not the whole story.
Something eternal is happening that we can’t see yet. So when I don’t understand what’s happening around me… I remember what God has already done. I remember the season when He slowed down the world. I remember the peace that came in the middle of chaos and circumstances I never would have chosen.

I trust that if He was faithful then… He is still faithful now.
I don't have all the answers, but I have enough history with Him to trust His plan... and it is good... and HE IS GOD!

When you don’t understand what God is doing, what has He already done in your life that reminds you He can be trusted?


Lord, when I don’t understand what You are doing, help me remember who You are. Remind me of Your faithfulness in my past so I can trust You in my present. Fix my eyes on what is eternal, not just what I can see right now. And give me peace that comes not from answers, but from knowing You are still in control. Amen.



Until next time, keep following the Plott, and I will be praying for us all. 💛

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