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“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.” Jeremiah 29:11

When I consider the plans that God has for me, I can’t begin to see the big picture that He does.  I figure that I am doing well if I know where things are going for the day that we call today, let alone how he will orchestrate the beautiful things that God has for me.  I know that He has a plan that is bigger and better than I could plan for myself.

There was a time when I thought I knew what God wanted for me.  I thought that I knew where I was going to be and grow old and every single road I would travel.  I did not know.  I only knew the time that he had revealed so far.  I still don’t know my whole story – the beginning from the end.  Truth be told, I don’t know how this story will go for the rest of the time on this planet, but I do know one thing.  I want to be doing the things that God has planned for me.

You see, I know from the events of this season, that God has been planning the recent additions to our family for a lot longer than I could have imagined. This holiday season, our family has grown a new branch, the Richtmyer branch.  I have always felt that you didn’t have to share biology to be family and God has provided this new branch for us in what I feel to be miraculous ways.  I know that God has planned this long before I could ever have imagined it myself.  You see, I believe that God had it all in His plan that we would find our way together and there are too many “coincidences” to think anything else.

Dennis and Faith grew up in New York.  Tony and I grew up in Maine.  But, here we are together in Bethlehem, North Carolina.  Dennis and Faith have one “older” daughter, Kyrstin, who just-so-happens to fit smack dab in the middle of our Anna and Emily.  They have two boys, Andrew and Adam, who just-so-happen to fit perfectly with our Gideon and Isaac.   The icing on the top of the layer cake of young ‘uns is baby Emma and she is a sweetheart.

It has been years since we had a crowd for Thanksgiving.  This year we had 19 people here.  The only “real relatives” were my parents here from Maine, but we were surrounded by people we truly love.  People from Tennessee, New York, Maine, Vermont, and North Carolina – but all family.  For Christmas we got to go play at the Richtmyer home for Christmas Eve and stuff a pew with 11 “family” members.  It hasn’t been all that many years that I sat in the pew with my kids feeling alone – since Tony spends his services in the sound room helping out with the computer work.  What a blessing to spend time with loved ones, worshiping our Savior.  We are so very blessed!

Tonight, on Christmas Night 2011, we got to relax (some in our jammies) and listen to 7 happy children play Monopoly – well until they weren’t happy any more… we visited, we shared, we ate Chinese Take Out and sang,  ♪♫Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra… ♪♫Ra.. ♪Ra.. ♫Ra!♪♫  The girls visited in the “girls room” (since the Richtmyer home has a nearly identical layout to the White home) the boys played in the basement.  All were happy… satisfied… and loved.

I am so thankful that God created the Richtmyer family to be part of the White family – from many miles away and planted us both here in Western North Carolina.  Through every single trial and thing that we could not have seen as a plan at all.. through the mountains and valleys, I believe that God planned this season – for the girls to fit so nicely together and the boys to do the same.

I am anxious to see what God has planned for 2012.  How will he fit things together for His best plan and for ours.  Thank you God for taking such good care of one such as me!

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