“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, 
to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 

This is a popular verse that we often see on graduation cards and that people use to encourage themselves and others. It is beautiful and meaningful all on its own, but we can learn so much more about God’s plans for the Israelites and for each of us when we read it in context.

If we back up to the beginning of Jeremiah 29, we learn that this verse is part of a message God gave the prophet Jeremiah to share with the Israelites who were in exile in Babylon. They had been ripped from their homes in Jerusalem and were stuck living among people with a different culture and different religion. They were in a dire situation and were likely feeling that God had turned His back on them.

When I write this verse in someone’s graduation card, I am often thinking about all the adventures the person will have in college or starting a career in the next few months or years. However, God gave this verse to Jeremiah right after a verse that told them, “… When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.”

God had great plans for the Israelites, but they had to buckle down and make do in exile for SEVENTY YEARS first. The timeline reminds me of when God made the Israelites wander in the desert for forty years before entering the Promised Land. Do you ever feel like God is giving you a long time of waiting before His plans for you unfold? I often do!

It is important for us to remember that waiting time isn’t just a void of lost time. While we are waiting, God is preparing us for the blessings and responsibilities He will be giving us. While we are waiting, we are serving Him in ways that might be setting up blessings and plans for others. While we are waiting, we are learning to trust more fully in God rather than thinking we can make things happen on our own.

I have been feeling God starting something new for several months now, It feels a bit like being brought out of exile. About 30 years ago, I felt God calling me to become a director of Christian education. I got the training and served as a D.C.E. for a couple of years before I married my farmer husband and moved to his farm. I had planned to continue serving as a D.C.E. for all of my working years, but it turned out that the farm was too far from any churches that could afford to hire a second worker. I spent a lot of time wondering why God called me to a career I loved dearly, but then only allowed me to serve as a D.C.E. for such a short time. It felt kind of like being in exile.

When I read the beginning of Jeremiah 29 today, God’s command for the Israelites to build lives where they were exiled made me think of the life I’ve been building while not serving in a called position as a director of Christian education. I was blessed to get to stay home full time with my children until they were both in school. It was a huge financial challenge, but I was able to experience almost every minute of their early years with them while squeezing in some freelance writing of Christian materials here and there. After they were in school, I built a career as a paraeducator and then as a certified teacher at public schools. I hadn’t planned to add endorsements in special education and English language learners, but circumstances sent my life in those directions and I built my knowledge of how to help others learn and grow. I am currently serving as a middle school teacher in a public school, but I think God is leading me back to serving Him in ministry. It may not look exactly like serving as a director of Christian education in a congregation, but with all of the changes in technology over the last 30 years, I’m exploring how I can help others grow in faith even though I am living on a farm way out in the middle of wheat fields.

God first called me to serve him before most of us knew there was such a thing as the internet. He called before I had my first e-mail address, before there were websites or Zoom meetings. He allowed me to be in exile, but that time wasn’t wasted. I had decades to observe the struggles of small, rural congregations and ponder how I could help them thrive. While I was at home with my children, I had time to try out freelance writing and learn a lot about the publishing industry from amazing editors at Concordia Publishing House. Being a teacher during the Covid shutdown forced me to learn how to use a lot of technology that I never would have chosen to learn on my own, but that I can now use to connect with people around the world.

If you are in one of those waiting times in your life where it feels like exile, take heart. Look for ways that God is preparing you for something new. Even if you can’t yet see how he is preparing you, know that God has wonderful plans for you to give you hope and a future that are good for you and pleasing to Him.