God Knows the Plans He Has for Us

Last night I wound up tucking Keisha into bed around 10:30 PM. It's summertime, and we've often let her stay up late. We spent the hour before her bedtime reading another chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5). We kissed Jennie bye as she left for work around 10 PM.

She got ready for me to tuck her in by brushing her teeth and taking her hearing aids out, as she normally does. As I tucked her in, she said she wanted to have some music playing while she fell asleep.

I turned the CD/karaoke machine on, and she said she could just barely hear it. It sounded quite loud to me. She wanted it turned up louder. I told her it was already too loud for this time of night.

Then she said something that broke my heart: She said she wished she could hear like Jennie and me, that she wasn't hard of hearing. I told her I wished she wasn't hard of hearing, too.

I asked her if she remembered what we'd studied in the Bible on Sunday. Then I reminded her that we'd read Jeremiah 29:10-13:

10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

I told Keisha that God has plans for her, with her hearing loss. We don't really know exactly what those plans are right now, but God DOES have some great plans in store for her.

Then we prayed together. She asked God to help her be grateful for where she is. I prayed for God to help us both to be encouraged and wait for him to reveal his plans for her life.

Then I told Keisha that I wished her to have "sweet dreams", full of princesses, princes, unicorns - "Ponies?" she asked - yes, ponies, and all that other good stuff.