Trusting God's Plans As Life Changes

Hello everyone!

It's been a little under a year since I've written anything on here, but I plan to change that this year. I hope to engage with everyone and turn this into a place where people can find encouragement, inspiration, and updates about what's happening in my life.

The aim is to post something once a week! Today, January 13, is actually the Honey Post's Anniversary. The Honey Post has officially been online for six years! We had some very humble beginnings, along with some rough patches, but we've made it. I'm so glad we can go through the journey of life together.

I created this blog and website to be a place where people could "taste and see" that God is good by reading my posts and seeing what He's been doing in my life. Its proper name is "The Honey Post," attributed to Proverbs 16:24, which says, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." I strive for my blog posts to be pleasant words that are sweet to the soul because they tell the story of just how good God is to His children!

Now that we're done with what some call housekeeping issues let's get to the real purpose of this post: Growing Up, Letting Go: Trusting God's Plans Through Life’s Big Changes.

Over the last four years, I have been a student at Liberty University. I did three years online as I traveled with my family, but I wanted to really get connected to the field I was studying in (Pre-law), so I convinced my dad to let me go for my graduating year. I arrived in August of 2024 and was so excited about the opportunity to meet new people, explore new places, and, most importantly, learn in a new way. You see, I was an online student for three years! I was looking forward to something that wasn't eight-week courses, and the sixteen-week classes seemed more laid back, which was appealing to me.

After starting the sixteen-week courses, I had a completely different outlook on those classes! It wasn't the professors or my fellow classmates or peers that made the semester hard. In fact, I met a lot of wonderful people and had many wonderful moments during the semester; it was the fact that I was so used to doing nine-week quarters through grade school and eight-week courses through college! The sixteen-week courses seemed to be laid back, but they really just slowly pulled you toward a grueling end. HAHA. I survived the semester and got passing grades, so I'm grateful for that, but I also knew I couldn't keep doing school that way, or I would not want to finish in May simply because I would not want to do those long classes anymore.

That was the first bump in the road, but let's continue...

About halfway through the semester, God put something on my heart for the second time in the semester (it has happened a few other times, but usually in the context of something more separated from what I planned to do). That thing was women's ministry and Christian leadership. After talking to my academic advisor (who was AWESOME, btw), I decided to look into a few other options that would make it possible for me to take some classes related to those areas. Long story short, after two meetings and much prayer and fasting, I made the decision to CHANGE MY MAJOR! If you know anything about college, please let it be that changing your major in your second to last semester before graduation is crazy!!

Despite this, God was guiding me every step. The less experienced Alanna of early August would have never thought she'd change her major. I felt such peace about the direction that God was leading me, and after talking with my parents and academic advisors, I officially changed my major to Interdisciplinary Studies in Government and Religion. This was now the second bump in the road, and it was my fall semester of senior year. I was (and still am) graduating in May 2025! So many questions, doubts, and fears flooded my mind as I tried to reason out how everything would work. There were so many things I had to handle in order to prepare for the spring semester; little did I know God had another door He was preparing me to open.

So this was around October and November...soon after the dust from that settled, God led me to another door: an internship in Washington, D.C. Now, you have to understand, this is something I'd always thought would be cool to do, but didn't really see God lead me in that direction. Would it be cool to do? Obviously! Would I intentionally plan to do it at a certain time to make certain connections? No, I would not. I never would have thought I'd be sitting in an intern housing building writing a blog post at the end of my first day working at a conservative think tank. Yet, here I am, and I wouldn't change a thing.

Were the last few months of my life crazy and unpredictable? Yes, but I also learned a ton of lessons that I wouldn't trade for anything. God has led me to where I am for such a time as this, and I am readily walking through the door He has opened for me.

You may be feeling like God kind of has you walking down the hallways right now, but you have to trust that He is leading you to the right door. He's leading you away from years of hurt, pain, and complacency. He's taking you down the hallway to doors that lead to unexpected opportunities that open doors to unbelievable experiences! Through all of the craziness of these past few months, I focused on one thing many times: God is my refuge. He is there when everything is uncertain; He is there when everything is shaking and unsteady; He is always there, and He is always our Solid Rock. We can rest under His wings and find refuge with the Most High! How amazing is that?

When you come to Him ready to do whatever He has for you to do, whether that's the most boring job or the most crazy job, come ready and with a willing heart of sacrifice that longs to serve your Saviour in any way He leads. Maybe God has you in a season you don't really understand, but maybe what you need to learn is that He is where you need to be. Not some cool place or exciting job, it's Him. Make Him your refuge, and you'll find that there is no better place on earth! He has created you in this time and place for a purpose; trust, know, and BELIEVE that promise. Growing up, letting go, and trusting God's plans through life’s big changes isn't just about the big changes; it's about learning to let God plant seeds in your life that lead to fruitfulness. Even if that means there are a few times of pruning and cutting off, which could be painful and confusing, it ultimately makes space for deeper growth, stronger roots, and a life that reflects His purpose and love through all we do and sau.