I don’t know what the right choice is, Lord. I don’t know what direction you want me to take. I am so confused and uncertain. I am always afraid I am going to make the wrong choice. Help me, Lord. I’ll do anything You need me to do and go anywhere You want me to go. Please, just paint big, black arrows on the ground and I’ll follow them.

Over the course of my life, since I’ve been asking for them, I’ve had many big, black arrows. I’ve prayed to God for them, trusted God to guide me through them, and thanked God (sometimes through gritted teeth) in the midst of. Here are some of them (in no special order). All are true. Some, to my shame, took me a long time to acknowledge and respond to. Some were harder to obey than others. I can honestly say I eventually could be thankful to God for all of them. With many of my big, black arrows, God has blessed me by revealing a greater purpose for myself and others. I’ve now reached a point in my walk of faith that I realize that in claiming and sharing these I can then count them as a victory. I am willing to talk and share about any one of these. No more secrets for me. Just ask.

· My engagement ended.

· The career I wanted to pursue had an exceptionally difficult job market.

· I didn’t get hired.

· The doctor said I must have surgery.

· I had two miscarriages.

· The house sale fell through.

· My sister is moving far away.

· We can’t afford to do that.

· I did get hired.

· My child’s heart is broken because all of his friends have abandoned him.

· I’m so depressed. I need professional help.

· My mother has a brain tumor.

· My middle sister died from a terminal illness.

· My youngest sister was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkinslymphoma.

· They’ve asked me to be a church elder for the fourth time.

· I got two flat tires.

· My husband got laid off. I had to go back to work.

· They said no.

· I have stories in my head that I enjoy writing down.

· I love to teach.

· I want to be married and have children.

· They said yes.

· I just got rejection letter from agent #358.

· I won the contest!

· I need to ask a lot of questions so I can understand things.

· I didn’t win the contest. And I had the lowest scores of all the entered manuscripts.

· I received a wonderful thank you note from a reader about my story.

· The kids are sick. I can’t go.

· My girlfriend doesn’t want to be my friend anymore.

· I’m messed up. I need a therapist.

· My boyfriend drank too much.

· My boyfriend didn’t value my faith.

· My boyfriend told me he was married.

· I slapped my child in anger.

Hmmm, this list is a lot longer than I thought it would be … But,do you get the point?