uncertainty – BeanSpired Editions

Shadowy mountains brood under a dim sky.

When Waiting Seems Unbearable

December 19, 2024 Megan Bean

We must wait, or give up on what we're waiting for. But how do we keep waiting when waiting seems hopeless?

A leaf-strewn sidewalk curves right through woods filled with dappled sunlight and autumn colors. This sidewalk is part of Abbott Lake Trail at Peaks of Otter in Bedford, Virginia.

God, Life

Scavenger Hunting for God’s Will

May 17, 2024May 17, 2024 Megan Bean

When we realize God is calling to us through our quandaries, we realize we're not alone in them. In the midst of overwhelming uncertainty, we can be sure of—and draw strength from—three things.

A beach lies in deep shadow, with distant houses silhouetted against the beginnings of a sunrise. A patch of orange and gold in the middle of the horizon heralds the rising sun. The dim blue sky above is full of gauzy clouds, with some denser, darker clouds low on the horizon to the right. Dark waves break on the shore to the right, their crests glowing in the dawn.

Disability & Rare Disease, God, Gospel

Loved Beyond Fear

February 28, 2023September 18, 2024 Megan Bean

Because we're loved in the midst of our frailty, we can live well in the midst of our frailty.

An empty mug sits on a rough wooden tabletop.

Life, Writing

When Our Best Isn’t Enough

November 22, 2022February 1, 2023 Megan Bean

The end of our capability doesn't have to be the end of our story. In fact, by the grace and power of God, it can be a beginning.

The fallen, pale pink blossoms of a Japanese Flowering Cherry tree litter the sun-dappled ground under the tree.

God, Holidays & Seasons, Tough Times

When Good Things End

April 28, 2022September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

Trusting God’s purposes is hard enough when bad things invade our lives. But what about when good things leave? When instead of facing an enemy, we face simply...emptiness?

A furry gray donkey with a white nose and belly and a dark stripe down its shoulder stands in a snowy pasture. It turns its head toward the camera and pricks its ears. The pasture in which it stands is long and narrow, with wire mesh fences, and slopes downhill toward a forest. The forest consists of pine and bare deciduous trees. Through their branches the sky shows a bright cloudless blue. Some trees off-screen to the right streak the snow with shadows.

Donkey Devos, God, Holidays & Seasons, Tough Times

Finding God When Things Look Bleak

January 25, 2022September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

We may not always be sure what to make of what God sends us. But we can always trust and know the One who sends it.

A furry brown and black donkey eats pelleted feed out of a bright blue pan on the ground.

Donkey Devos, God, Life

What It Takes to ‘Taste and See’

June 21, 2021September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

A life following Jesus isn't an easy life. But it's the best possible life we could ever live. And it takes us to the best place we could ever be: the heart of God, the very definition of goodness. You’d think we’d rush to taste that goodness. What kind of healthy human doesn’t want to experience inner peace, to be truly and faithfully loved, to live with a sense that they and their lives matter? Yet we hold back....afraid the sweetness holds poison. Convinced the fruit we’ve been told is scrumptious will turn out sour or bland. Suspicious that the goodness is all taste and no nourishment for our famished souls.

The sun sets in a dim, hazy sky above a marsh. In the foreground, plants stand silhouetted against water that reflects the sun's light. Farther away, across the water, the land looks dark against the sunset.

God, Tough Times

When Suffering Makes No Sense

January 27, 2021September 30, 2024 Megan Bean

Suffering when you can see the point is hard. Suffering when you can’t see the point is harder.

A heart made with red-painted horseshoes lies on mulch amidst Black-eyed Susans.

Horse Homilies, Tough Times

Something New

August 28, 2020September 30, 2024 Megan Bean

Maybe you've felt similarly in seasons of major change. Maybe you've stood on the line between familiar and foreign territory and wondered: How do I handle the newness? How can I possibly move forward from endings into beginnings?

God, Life

Walk This Way

September 29, 2018October 31, 2024 Megan Bean

Sometimes God’s call makes more sense than we expect.