One of my life goals has been to get to a blank piece of paper stage in my walk with God. Ultimately, I want to present God with a blank piece of paper so He can plan my life.
It started like this: Years ago, I was explaining to a friend I was at one of those "trying to discover God's will" points in my life. (I have been there many times before and will be again.) His advice wasn't something he had thought about a ton before. He admitted it sort of came to him quickly. But for me, it was the word I needed to hear.
He said something like, "Maybe you need to start with a blank piece of paper and give God ample space to plan out the rest of your life. Make yourself completely available to Him."
I left our meeting, however, with a very probing question for myself. Did I really even have a blank piece of paper? And not in the literal sense. I'm sure I could find blank paper somewhere—even in such a digital age. But in my heart, had I really released my will to God's will?
Over the next few weeks, through prayer and discipline, I attempted to get there—at least in that season.
Over the years since then, I have periodically continued the self-examination. To do this, I have to be honest with myself and the plans I have for my life. I certainly want to follow His lead, but I think many times my page is loaded with my own agenda. If I want my page to be completely blank, then I need to offer it back to God with nothing on the paper.
But it leads me to ask you the question:
Have you given God a blank page to plan your life?
Be prepared when you do. God seems to love a challenge. He is great at taking nothing and making something when we let Him draw the picture – write the story of our life. But I'm not sure as followers of Christ—and, as humans, whether we know it or not, if we can fully realize our ultimate design until we let the Creator have His way.
Let me offer a few more thoughts on the subject:
The Biggest Mistake of My Life
Making Resolutions You'll Actually Keep
Personal Reflection Questions to Start New Year Right
7 Things Which Have Brought Me Success
The best thing you can do for yourself when planning for life is to give God plenty of margin to shape your plan. Actually, when we give Him our whole life we are in a better when we come with our own agendas. 
Ron Edmondson is the senior pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.
This article originally appeared at ronedmondson.com.
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