We are selling our home, so we’ve been pretty busy getting it ready for market. We are not the people who say, “They’re buying the house, not our stuff,” and expect them to do the hard work of imagining themselves here.

So we’ve taken down and put away photos and art, touch-up painted, caulked, and cleaned cleaned cleaned.

We’ve depersonalized and neutralized.

And the home that we love is ready to shine for its next family. [We’re praying they love its vaulted ceilings, beautiful southern light, and open floorplan as much as we have.]

However, there was one last piece of preparation that my husband wanted to do.

Rip out the front garden.

You know, the garden that I started and have loved? Yes, that one.

But but but… I must have processed just a little too long, because I think my husband sensed that I thought he was a bit crazy. Why on Earth would we pull out a perfectly good garden?? …Even if some of the bushes were a bit overgrown… and the hydrangeas were spreading everywhere… And the phlox were done blooming this year and just looked like weedy stalks…

*sigh*

So he pulled up all those forty-pound evergreens and ripped out every last flower. I couldn’t even look.

And you know what happened next?

Three things: First, the beds looked amazing. Clean, open, blank slates. Second, we got to bless a few neighbors with free bushes and plants. And finally, the new simple garden looks fantastic, manicured and welcoming.

Who knew.

So as my hubs made “one last run” to the store for a few more flowers, one more bag of mulch, and an extra bag of enriching soil, Big Bro and I continued planting (into the night… my neighbors had a good laugh about that, us out there with our headlamps and shovels!), and it struck me right there between the eyes…

God does this.

Sometimes God will lead us to places crazy and counter-intuitive and counter-productive and maybe even a bit painful. In order to make something wonderful and unexpected and beautiful.

Duh, I was just thinking of it the other day! God knows the plans He has for me, and they are good.

And when I let go of my plans in order to enter into and trust His, good things happen.

So I am so thankful for the beautiful reminder: just as my husband leads our family (and sometimes guides us to do things that might, on first appearance, look a little crazy), so God leads His people… If we will only follow.

Anyone else out there ever find it tough to trust God’s plan when we cannot already perceive the end result? Here are some of my favorite verses about trusting Him in the process:

• “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

•  “O Sovereign LORD, You are God! Your words are trustworthy, and You have promised these good things to Your servant” (2 Samuel 7:28).

• “Those who know Your Name will trust in You, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You” (Psalm 9:10).

• “But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation” (Psalm 13:5).

• “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7).

So, is God leading you to do something a bit crazy for His glory and your good today? Do tell!