Plans to prosper...?

I have been reflecting on Jeremiah 29:11 lately:
         "...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."

I do not know how to view the world outside of the influence of my culture.  When I ponder a scripture like this it is hard not to think of financial prosperity, health, wellness, happiness, etc.  We (Americans) generally think in terms of the "American Dream"... we envision God opening the door for us to ascend out of our station and position and to move up the ladder.  We know the tales of Cinderella and other fairy-book characters who are poor servants one minute and then royalty the next.

But as I ponder this scripture, I am acutely aware of the fact that God's plans may have nothing to do with health, or wealth.  They may have nothing to do with my definition of "prosperity", but everything to do with God's definition.

Last week I spent hours each day studying for my first standardized test in over 15 years.  I believe the last major test I took was the SAT my senior year of high school.

After weeks I had finally heard back from the school district where I have been looking into getting a job.  This high school is in desperate need of a music teacher and the principal is very interested in having me on board.  Unfortunately the gigantic bureaucracy that is the school district requires me to be a "Highly Qualified Teacher" before they will consider submitting my temporary conditional certification.  In order to be "Highly Qualified", I have to pass a test and be enrolled in a program.  So, Kevin and I signed up for the test.  We signed up about one week before the test date (the next date is in February so taking the test quickly was very important).

All week I studied, and I hope I passed (will find out December 26).

As I seek to find God's next step for my life, as I strive to walk in obedience, I found myself working hard to pass a test.  And as I prepared and took the test, wondering if I would pass, I thought about God's plan to prosper....

If I fail the test and am unable to get a job, God's plans for hope and a future are not destroyed.  His plans stand no matter life's circumstances.

No matter the circumstances.

It is about three and a half years ago that my husband had his hip replaced.  For the past few weeks it has been bothering him and so we thought that it might have come out of place.  Sunday, my husband went to urgent care to get an Xray so that we could get his hip taken care of.  It is not simply out of place - which would have been the best case scenario.

The notes from the Xray said something about heterotopic ossification - bone tissue forming outside of the skeleton.  From what we have seen the only way to deal with this is a future surgery, once the bone has finished growing.

Plans to prosper?

Sometimes I feel like the waves keep coming - like when your feet are stuck in the sand, and with each wave the water sucks you deeper and deeper down.

I go back to my flection on Jeremiah ... looking at the context (29:10-12):
     "... When 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will come back to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.  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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you .  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and I will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." 

Wait.... What?!  70 years?!

So, not all the people would experience returning to the land.  And those that did would be old.

So, what does it mean that God has good plans for each of us?  How do I, as an American who sees the world through my culture, understand God's plans for my life in light of being unemployed, facing another surgery for my husband, not having enough money, not having a place of my own to live?

The answer may lie in this reality - perhaps God's good plans of prosperity included exile.  Perhaps God's desire for obedience is more about our blessing than God's happiness.  Perhaps seeking the Lord, and finding Him is far greater than wealth, or homes, or jobs, or health.  Maybe this is the point - finding Life, Love, Goodness, Joy, Peace, Security rather than the illusion of these things, which is what the American Dream is about.

I still want to get the job.  I still want to earn the income.  I still want my husband's hip to be miraculously healed so that he will not need surgery.  I still want health and financial security.

But no matter what life looks like I still have this... I have hope and I have a future.