Stages of Life: Are you where you're supposed to be?

At my age I am encountering people who are at all different stages of their lives.  Something that I've struggled with is comparing myself to others in the sense of where I'm supposed to be at my age.  I am slowly realizing that is crazy - ESPECIALLY at my age.  People around me are dating, married, engaged, single, having babies, having more babies, changing careers, changing relationships, changing homes, changing locations, you name it, someone is doing it.

As humans we constantly compare ourselves to others and, depending on how the people that surround us grew up, we think we are supposed to do it on the same timeline as others.  I remember on my 24th birthday driving to work listening to the radio and crying the entire time.  If someone would have seen me they would have thought someone died.  I was crying that day because I thought I wasn't where I was supposed to be at 24.  This is just not where I planned my life going. How am I supposed to do things if I am so behind my timeline?

At the time, I had just broken up with my boyfriend six weeks before, moved to a small town two hours away from all my friends and family and accepted a new job.  The reason I thought I wasn't in the right place is because I was comparing my life to my parents.  I've always looked up to them and I always knew the age they got married at, the age they had kids at, etc.  Naturally, I thought my life was supposed to move at the same pace.  I thought I was doing something wrong because my life seemed like it was in a different place than is was supposed to be.

Turns out, 24 was one of the best years of my life so far.

Looking back, I know the reason that 24 was a great year for me.  Sure, I got back together with Jake, started a great job, moved to wonderful area and got engaged but those only supplemented why it was truly great.  The reason it was great was because it began with me crying out to God asking him to comfort me and guide my path - wherever it is supposed to go.  He had plans for me that I was too distracted to see.  I was too caught up in comparing myself and my life to others.  That day I prayed that he would help to stop comparing my life and age to other peoples' experiences. 

God taught me that day that he works in my life in Dana years.  Just like a year in a dogs life is a different amount of time than it is in ours, a year in your life, your parents life, your friend's life and my life are completely different.  God works in my life on Dana time.

Now I take joy in the fact that my life may not be right where everyone else is because I know that God is laying the foundation for my future.  Right now, in this moment, he wants me to focus on spending this time in His presence soaking up the grace he has given me for this day. 

Today my prayer is that each of you let God work in (Insert your name here) time.  I pray that you realize how special it is that he works everything out perfectly in your life at the right moment.  Don't lose hope!  Just because he is doing something in someone else's life that you want doesn't mean he doesn't have that planned in your time.  Let him work in you right now as you are. You will be pleasantly surprised when you look back and see what he's done and the path he created.