This morning, my pastor Kevin introduced a novel idea to me: the link between set-backs and set-ups.

In high school I was certain of the life I wanted to lead. I had a one year, five year and ten year plan nailed down. My thirty and fifty year plans needed only minor attention. I was that girl... sure of what my future was "supposed" to look like.

Imagine my frustration when the college I had chosen only offered me half scholarship; whilst my backup college was willing to pay a pretty penny for my education. I was hysterical. Life plans changed quickly and dramatically for me. I faced what felt like a MAJOR setback. I wondered how I could ever recover. How would I still become the person I was meant to be?

Little did I know that God was preparing another path for me. What felt like a monumental setback was actually a situation in which God was setting up a different stage for me, another life path. A journey that He had always intended for me to follow (good thing I wasn't left in charge after all). I'm convinced that some of life's biggest setbacks are really God-moments in disguise.

I faced a setback that turned out to be a setup. Sometimes the unexpected, the unpleasant, or the unwanted occurs "... so that the work of God might be displayed in [our] lives" (John 9:3).

My plan is to approach my next "setback" with a sense of expectation... what might God be doing here? Is He setting the stage for something different, something better? Is He setting Himself up to be known in the world?