I want to share some personal news with you this week. As some of you may know, The Enchanted Garden, the first book in my children’s book series, The Gold Feather Gardeners, is set to release at the end of this summer...hopefully. (More news on that later!) What you don’t know is that my illustrator and I have been working on the side to create a second version of the book in Ukrainian. Publishing a children’s book in Ukrainian has never been on my bucket list, and yet, here we are! How do things like this happen?

Like so many of the events in my life that have been the most meaningful, it came seemingly by accident. In reality, it was several small steps of obedience to a plan that I never could have dreamed up on my own.

My illustrator is an amazingly talented artist and also an inspiring Christian woman from Ukraine. She moved to the US in 2015, and her family still lives in Ukraine. The unexpected war in Ukraine changed everything for The Enchanted Garden. It pushed the publication back indefinitely, but it also gave us time to consider how this project could be used to bring hope for Ukrainian children. We found a team of volunteer native Ukrainian speakers, began the process of translating the text, and found a digital format in which to offer the book in Ukrainian for free.

When I started writing this book, I had no idea that it would end up being simultaneously published in Ukrainian. That was far from the plan at the outset, and now it is one of the pieces that I am most excited to see come to completion. God works in mysterious ways!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV

So often we make big plans, or at least feel like we should have a big dream or goal to work towards. However, in God’s usual paradoxical way, it is often the ones least likely to succeed who achieve the most for heaven. Let’s look at a few examples.

Moses was a fugitive from the law when God told him from a burning bush to lead the Israelites from slavery. Gideon was hiding from the enemy when God told him to lead an army against the Philistines. Ruth was a widow scrounging for food in a foreign land before she became the great grandmother of King David. Mary was just a regular girl looking forward to her wedding day when she became pregnant with the Son of God.

None of these individuals planned or set goals to achieve any of these exceptional acts. They were simply going about life with a heart attentive to God. It is precisely their lack of ability to succeed on their own that allowed God to use them to do incredibly great things. They did not choose the adversity of their circumstances, but by faithfully following God’s plan one small step at a time, they were able to do far more than they ever could have imagined.

While we are always encouraged to dream big and shoot for the stars, there are two problems with that mindset. 1) Our wildest goals can’t touch the creativity of what God has in store. 2) When we set our energy towards building something great for ourselves, we are too busy to accept God’s invitation to build something even greater for Him. God uses the unassuming followers who are obedient and those who stay faithful in dire circumstances to do amazing things that they never could have imagined.

Father, I want you to write my story. Don’t let my own personal goals and dreams stop me from hearing your voice and following obediently wherever you want me to go. I surrender my future to you and ask you to use my time, talents, and resources to build your kingdom. Bring on the unexpected!

In what ways has God worked in unimaginable ways in my life?

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