‘Do you know what the best smell in the world is?’

When I taught preschoolers, I never knew what questions they would ask.

Ms. Elizabeth, can I get married when I’m 10? That’s old, right?

Ms. Elizabeth, what does Play-Doh taste like?

Ms. Elizabeth, can I have a pet whale in my bathtub?

Now, I teach fifth- and sixth-graders, and most of the time their questions are easier to answer. Most of the time, the questions connect to the lesson, too. Sometimes they will answer a question before I even ask it because they know where I’m going with my train of thought. I love it.

Last year, though, I was asked a question that threw me for a loop. It was fall break for the kids, so I only had three in my class on that night. One of them asked if we could hang out before the lesson started and talk for a while, and I agreed to give them 10 minutes.

In that time, they decided to talk about farms and explained to me all the ins and outs of farm life. Several of them have experience with it, and I was surprised by how excited they were to teach me about it and tell their favorite stories of helping out on the farm.

But then came a question that made no sense to me.

“Ms. Elizabeth, do you know what the best smell in the world is?”

“No, what is it?”

“Chicken litter.”

Every head turned toward the boy who had asked the question.

“You’re crazy!”

“That’s gross!”

“Eww!”

I may not have grown up on a farm, but I’m very familiar with the smell of chicken litter, and I can tell you that it is not on my top 10 list of favorite smells. Chicken litter comes in at around 478, give or take. One might think I would have grown accustomed to the smell by now, living in a rural area, but that is not the case. It still makes me cringe when I catch the first whiff of the year. But, I respect the kid’s decision to call it the best smell. To each his own.

I thought about that question as I drove home, and I wondered how many times in the past 10 years I had prayed and asked God similar “chicken litter” questions.

Do you know what the best thing that could happen right now is? I get that job, that date, that award, that leadership role at my church, that opportunity to go on the mission trip, etc.

I knew what I needed, and I wanted God to be on the same page with me. I wanted Him to follow the 10-year plan I had for my life because it felt safe, and I had never been a risk-taker. I knew better what I needed.

That sounds silly, doesn’t it? How could I know better than the God who created me? But I was 17 and so afraid of all the changes that I knew were coming as I prepared to graduate high school, get a job, and generally move forward with life. God had better plans, though, and He started changing my heart and showing me that He is trustworthy and that He would lead me to better things if only I let go of that 10-year plan.

It was a hard journey, but eventually, I did let it go. And 10 years later, my life looks nothing like what I had planned. That’s a good thing. All the things I just knew I needed have long been forgotten and replaced with a desire for God and nothing else. I won’t settle for less than knowing Him and pursuing Him in all things. I just want what God wants, and my heart is in a constant search to discover what those things are. Nothing satisfies me but Him.

As I learned during those 10 years to follow God’s guiding, He showed me how great His plans were from the start. He reminded me many times of Psalm 139:16.

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.” (ESV)

I never had to maintain control of anything because God already knew. He knew my life before it began, and He knows my future as well. That’s comforting. I don’t have to hold anything together because the truth is that I couldn’t even if I tried. Even on my best days when I feel like I can conquer anything, I’m not omnipotent. I’m still just as weak then as I’ll ever be, possibly even more so because I may actually try to do it on my own instead of taking it to God.

God only knows what will happen in the next 10 years, but I can sincerely say that I look forward to the journey, no matter the twists and turns it may have in store. I know that whatever happens, God will be all I ever need to face anything. He’s been my safety and my strength thus far and will continue to be for the rest of my days.