I never really thought of it this way before.

*it occurred to me last night that this isn't really a "mommy" post, but just something that has been on my mind.*

For years and years and years I have been passing this verse on to Bible-believing friends and family as comfort in whatever struggle or hardship they had been going through in that time:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

It's one of my favorites. I know it doesn't mean that God will give us everything we want or think we want or that He won't take away even that which we hold most dear, but that in whatever circumstance we find ourselves He is working to make the outcome good.

Right, except I never really thought of it this way:
"You make all things work together for my good." (from "Your Love Never Fails" by Jesus Culture)

So I'm supposed to believe that God will work all things for good in everyone's life but mine? Silly me - of course He has His hand in everything happening in my life - from the baby who keeps coughing so hard he throws up to not getting a faculty condo on Pepperdine's campus to hitting my toe on the stool my 3-year-old left in the middle of the kitchen to feeling cramped in this too-small apartment and wondering if I should have been working these last three years to save money to be able to afford a better house than what we're looking at to a brother and brother-in-law with no jobs to an uncle with prostate cancer to still owning a home across the country...

Yes, yes He is.

And even through all these unfavorable circumstances, I can still praise Him for so much. And I can have faith that whatever the outcome of the happenings in my life, He already knew what would happen and was busy making things work together for my good.