Say YES to the Plan!

Call me sappy if you will, but I watched TLC's "Say YES to the Prom!" today, and I cried through most of it. I watched as these girls who have come through horrific circumstances, crying pure tears of joy as they simply get to pick out a dress and shoes and fulfill a social norm that they never thought they'd get to have. I have never really had to worry about finances much throughout my life. Money has always been tight, but either my parents or I have always made a way for me to be able to do things if I had my heart set on it. I never had to worry about if I could afford a dress for homecoming, or if I'd have enough money to buy the ticket. Granted, my private school homecoming's were a little bit less extravagant than prom, but the same ideas apply.

I cried as I watched Monte (I love watching him on Say Yes to the Dress!!) helping these girls fulfill their dreams- laughing with them, crying with them, taking pictures with them and just encouraging them to enjoy every moment of this day, as it was all for them. And I had a simple thought, I thought- "That's what I want to do with my life. I want to be able to work with kids who everyone else has forgotten about, and make them feel like a million bucks." I want to counsel the girls who are struggling to get through what are supposed to be the "best" years of their life. I want to create moments and memories for struggling families who can't create those moments on their own. I want to shower love on people that most of the world overlooks.

You wouldn't know these girls are homeless, have lost parents, or have almost died and lost everything they owned. No, they are straight A students working their butts off to be more than their circumstances. They don't want to be defined by their families mental illness's. They don't want to be defined by the fact that when they came to the US they couldn't speak English and failed all their classes. They want to be defined by WHO they are, not what they can do. And that is simply beautiful to me. I love that, and I wish we gave more support to middle school and high schoolers. They need it. They need mentors. They need people showering them in love, compassion and grace. They need someone to step up in their lives and say "I refuse to stand by and watch you fall through the cracks!"

These girls also found out that they were being given a laptop, and their first two years of college paid for. They were hysterical in tears. I want to say these things should be a common right, but at the same time I believe you should have to do some work in order to move up in the world. But, when life throws trial after trial after trial at you, I see no shame in asking for help and I think we need to provide more resources for teens trying to improve their lives before they become adults.

I've talked many times about how I am frustrated about where I am at right now. I am frustrated that I am nannying, I am frustrated that I am still living at home. I am frustrated that nothing feels like it is going how it supposed to. But when I take a step back, every day God is showing me more and more and more the plan He has for my life and he keeps reassuring me that this trial will in fact work in the plan, and He will use it for my good. I just have to be patient and trust that He knows what He is doing.

So here is my random thought of the day for you: Are you willing to say yes to the plan that God has for you? Are you willing to put in the hard work and keep pushing forward no matter what the obstacle? I am. Because I know in the end that the plan my savior has for me far outweighs anything that I could possibly dream of or imagine for myself.