"... and directly you will be directed in the right direction"

Ever felt like all aspects in your life were in transition?  Like nothing was settled?  Like you were wandering with no concept of where you're supposed to be going or how to get there even if you did?

Yeah... that's pretty much my life right now.  It's been more than two months since I got home from my summer with YouthWorks, and I have yet to find a job (beyond the few hours a week I'm working at my church).  I'm living with my parents again and 98% of my belongings are packed in boxes stacked in closets and the garage and far corners of the basement.  Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful to have a place to say with no rent payments and free food... but I miss having a space to call my own and the independence that comes with it.  Technically I'm home... but I don't feel settled.

Worse than that, though, is the fact that I have no idea when any of this might change.  I can't get a grasp on what the plan is... what I'm supposed to be doing now, where I'm supposed to be heading... and it's driving me nuts.  I'm very much a planner (read: control freak), so not having one makes me unsettled and frustrated. I know and trust that there is a plan (God promises He has one in Jeremiah), but I'd really like to know what it is... at least the next step if nothing else.

So of course while I go through this season of my life, I'm in a Bible study that's all about being in the wilderness.  Did you know that God deliberately led the Israelites into the wilderness as He brought them out of Egypt?  I didn't... but apparently He decided to take them the long way to the Promised Land so they could avoid war with the Philistines.  Can you imagine being the Israelites?  They know the shortest route to their destination, but God is leading them in the opposite directions.  I'm pretty sure I'd be quite confused by that.  What they didn't realize was that God had a purpose in doing so: 1. to avoid war with the Philistines that might send them running back to Egypt; 2. to create an opportunity for them to experience His presence and power in their lives.

I guess the lesson I'm supposed to be learning is that there's a purpose to this transition.  I may have no idea what my destination actually is, but God's probably taking me on the round-about route to get there because He's creating an opportunity for me to experience Him, an opportunity to prepare me for whatever that destination is.  Can I learn from the Israelite's negative example and follow without complaining?  Can I trust that God's heart is good and He will lead and provide even as I wander?  Guess we'll find out...