Is This It?

One of my favorite bible verses is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
How relevant does that passage feel to a still single woman in her 30’s living a dead end life? I’ll admit, I have to stretch my imagination to believe that this is the life God planned. The picture perfect life for me? I would be married, have at least four children, live on a farm not too far from the ocean, and I would be a published novelist. What’s the reality? I haven’t had a date in… well, I won’t tell you how long it’s been b/c that makes me seem even more pathetic! So there goes the husband and kids dream. I have a lot of animals yes, but in a very small house in a dry city no where near an ocean. And as far as the career: I’m stuck in a dead-end job that pays peanuts, and what you see is what you get as far as the writing goes.
Anyone feel the need for some cheese to go with the whine?
My point is that I fear there are no grand plans from God after all. Maybe this is as good as it will ever get for me, and this is the exact life God had in mind. So if it is, I need to sit back and thank God for all I do have: a supportive family that loves me, furry creatures in my home to keep the loneliness away, a house to call my own, and a job that at least sort of pays the bills. And I need to allow myself to be used by Him no matter where I am. Although it may be hard for me to accept that I may never find the happiness I am seeking in this world, this life is temporary. I can still find the hope in Jeremiah 29 that God’s plans are to prosper me. That may or may not refer to earthly successes, but I can hold out hope that as long as I keep my heart open, that I will find prosperity in my spiritual journey.