I held her baby for her so she could finish packing up. I carried her baby all the way to their seats and we ended up sitting behind her. Throughout the whole flight, myself and another passenger helped keep her toddler distracted and happy.

If I would have waited any longer, I would have missed my opportunity to help. Instead, I trusted God and gathered up the courage to step in and extend God’s comfort.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Paul describes God as the God of all comfort. Paul is not describing comfort as a warm cup of coffee, but he describes it as being called to one’s side to help. No matter what we face, His Holy Spirit is with us in every situation. While God is our ultimate source of comfort and strength, often He uses others— like you and me— to extend them.

We were made to be conduits of God’s comfort. With God as our comfort, we can also provide comfort to others.

Look around your community and ask the Lord to show you where you can extend help...

• Pay for someone’s coffee or dinner.
• Babysit for a single mom.
• Share sunscreen or snacks with another family at the pool.
• Deliver a meal to someone in need.

Remember a time when God provided comfort and strength in your time of need. Next time you think about being that comfort for someone do not let fear get in the way; let God lead you to their side.

My son was a good sleeper for the first three months, but that did not last long. He would only sleep while being held or in his car seat. I sought out all the experts: Instagram, Google, Amazon, and other mom friends. I was so focused on listening to the “specialists” that I was not listening to the Expert, God.

When Solomon asked God for wisdom and discernment, he believed God would grant him exactly what he needed to be a wise king. He could have asked for anything in the world, but instead he asked for knowledge and insight so that he could judge the people fairly and wisely. His trust in God led to some incredible revelations and rulings.  Have you ever heard of a leader who suggested cutting a baby in half just so he could figure out who the real mother was? Solomon suggested that because he knew that God had given him the knowledge to be able to figure out which mother was lying. Without Solomon’s complete trust in God, he would have never been able to make the judgements that he did.

Instead of asking God for wisdom, like Solomon, I was stressing over Oliver’s nap schedule. I realized that I needed to trust in God more than I was originally. I prayed and spoke with God; I apologized for not coming to him first. I opened up my heart, and determined to listen more. Then I remembered a verse we talked about in my Bible study, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). As soon as that verse popped into my head, I knew God was speaking to me. I had just told my husband that I thought God was never going to speak to me about Oliver’s nap time issues and then I heard that verse loud and clear.

I was not holding onto that hope and faith that God would help me. I was not being like Solomon; I was turning to others to help me and not turning to the One who is with me and for me. After turning back to Him, I was able to focus on learning Oliver’s needs instead of what all the “specialists” were saying. God gave wisdom and instruction; I simply focused on obeying.

With access to “specialists” at our fingertips, it can be hard to not hold what they say as gospel. There is only One who can give us true wisdom and discernment— God. Next time you are struggling with parenting or any life milestone, I implore you to go to Him first before any person or book. You will learn more by listening to the True Expert.

As for me, I fought God hard for a while. I was in a serious relationship that I thought was amazing but from the outside everyone could see how toxic it was. I was adamant about my dreams to the point of blindness. I was not trusting God; I was trying to forge my own, “better” path. Looking back now, I see what everyone else saw. The fighting, the jealousy, the control— that was not love. That was not the person God had for me.

My 22nd birthday came and went, and I was no closer to being a mom; I saw my dreams moving farther and farther away from me and I was upset with God. Like Joseph, in this week’s reading, I waited. Unlike Joseph, I struggled to trust God’s plan. Joseph was locked in a dungeon for two years, yet he did not lose faith in God’s plan for him.

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Easier said than done, right? It’s hard to trust in a plan you cannot see, until you realize it’s in the hands of a perfect, loving God.

Thankfully, even when we struggle to trust, God is still working out His perfect plan for us.

I waited two more years for the man God had for me. My road to motherhood was not easy, either. It was met with hardship and sadness, but God knew exactly when we would need our son. He knew that 2020 would be a tough year, and he provided us with a bright spot— our son was born in the middle of a pandemic. We may not have gotten the pregnancy or birth we imagined, but we did get our beautiful son and we thank God for him every day. Like Joseph, we trusted in God; we leaned into God and learned that His timing is perfect, and His ways are good.

Joseph’s undying trust in God’s plan saved an entire nation. Imagine if he had chosen to give up on God’s plan and make his own way.

It is hard to keep that faith when the enemy is trying to pull us down, but learning scripture and speaking it over our situations is one way we can fight doubt. When I am struggling to trust, I think about Proverbs 3:5, and remember that God is completely trustworthy. Think of a Bible verse that reminds you to trust in God and put it up on your bathroom mirror, your phone, or on the fridge. Seeing that verse when you face trials, will help you remember how perfect God’s timing actually is.

​More perfect than our own timing.