Five Minute Friday: Future

Jun 2, 2017

Future…

This is a surprisingly hard prompt from Five Minute Friday (FMF). I seriously try to ignore the future many times. I would love to see my three boys grown, married to strong God followers, raising their children to walk with God, too. That’s the far future that I aim for each day. Trying to shoot my arrows at that target. But the more I look around me, it scares me how little control I will have over that future in the end, even if I do everything “right.” So I aim for it each day and cover those hopes and dreams in a whole heap of prayer.

I would love to see my three boys grown, married to strong God followers, raising their children to walk with God, too. That’s the far future that I aim for each day. Trying to shoot my arrows at that target. But the more I look around me, it scares me how little control I will have over that future in the end, even if I do everything “right.” So I aim for it each day and cover those hopes and dreams in a whole heap of prayer.

But the more I look around me, it scares me how little control I will have over that future in the end, even if I do everything “right.” So I aim for it each day and cover those hopes and dreams in a whole heap of prayer.

Then there’s my future as a writer. It’s interesting that FMF has just begun an official page for this community. I want my future as a writer to reach people. I want to help point people, especially women, to God. But that future seems a far off. Or this plane is taking a while to get off the ground. Looking at the numbers between this site and overacup.org, I’m learning that future is much more in God’s hands. Here I’m doing “everything wrong” and it’s doing better, and there I’m doing “everything right,” and it’s struggling. Maybe it’s because here I feel like I’m playing in a sandbox and am more me….

This post is written from a prompt in the Five Minute Friday community. Every Friday Christian writers join together to write for five minutes, no editing, on one prompt. Come join us at FiveMinuteFriday.com. We’d love to have you! 

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12 Comments

  1. Sarah Geringer (@SarahGeringer)

    As a fellow mom, I completely understand your fears about the future for your children. I can’t imagine navigating this mom life without faith. It keeps me from worrying myself to death. #17 at #fmf this week.

    • Tara L. Cole

      Oh, yes! Without God I’d be lost on what to do.

  2. Carlene Hill Byron

    Tara, “eat, drink, and be merry.” Enjoy the life God has given you today … from just a few years older, I can assure you that the future is more totally out of your hands (and beyond your imagination!) than you can conceive. Happy FMF!

  3. Lesley

    I like the ideas of shooting arrows towards the target while covering the hopes and dreams in prayer. I think that’s a good way to approach the future. There’s definitely a place for plans and goals but ultimately it’s in God’s hands. Visiting from FMF #25.

    • Tara L. Cole

      Yes, I’ve really learned the last 5 years how little control I have. I try to just keep my hands open.

  4. SueM

    As a fellow mom of boys (I have 4) and someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression, I totally can empathize. I’ve been praying for my sons and their wives since they’ve been conceived. What has helped me is following Abraham’s example and handing them over to their Heavenly Father who loves my sons even more than I do. He wants the best for them and has a plan for them. I need to let God and trust him. It’s so very hard but what brought me true peace. It also helped our mother/son relationship. 🙂

    • Tara L. Cole

      Those are good ideas, Sue! Yes, I’ve been speaking hose prayers over my sons, too. Thank you for the encouragement!

  5. Somer

    I liked your description of playing in a Sand Box. It kind of reminds me of Bekah Jane Pogue’s book Choosing Real. She talks about how she thought or lived like it was all up to her. The inviting or the making things happen. But then what if it’s not? And what if it’s God who is the one who does the best inviting and planning?
    A couple of months ago I felt an enormous weight on myself. To try to figure things out and clean up a dicey situation. What was right?
    What should I do?
    Strangely, I felt a phrase tucked deep inside of me, “Watch me work.”
    I knew that Me wasn’t me, but God.
    I’ve never been good at watching God work. Especially when His plans don’t seem to make sense and totally curve ball what I thought He was doing.
    Repeating those simple words has helped me step forward in trust

    • Tara L. Cole

      “Watch Me work.” I love that! Thank you for sharing your story, Somer. Yes, in many situations I constantly feel pressure to “make things happen” but over and over God is showing me I’m the seed planter, he is the one who makes things and people grow.

  6. Tara

    Tara, you are indeed a writer!

    • Tara L. Cole

      Tara, thank you so much for your encouragement!

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