I'm probably a mix between the two extremes and it really just depends on what it is for, how much time I spent on it and how quick it takes me to let it go. One thing I've learned in life is to be flexible. I may not always like it, but flexibility is a major life skill.
In all your planning have you ever tried to tell God your plans? I mean sit there and tell him your plans as if you have complete authority over all that happens in your life. Or maybe even sit there and bargain your plans...I will __________ as long as you _______. In other words negotiate, try to bargain.
Growing up we used to laugh at my house and say God has a sense of humor. The main example we always fall back on is saying the word never. "I will never ___________. " And the for some reason or another we end up having to do what we say we will never do. My mom's was that she would never live in Atlanta, Georgia (or maybe it was that she would never live in Georgia). Well, in 1989 we found ourselves moving from Tennessee to Georgia. To be specific, Mableton, Georgia at 2 Acacia Lane. Funny how I can still remember certain addresses. It was about 20-30 miles outside of Atlanta, about a mile or so from 6 Flags Over Georgia. We lived there for about a year and half.
So now anytime we say we will never _______, we quickly correct ourselves and not use the word never.
The following picture has been shared on Facebook quite often and I felt it fitting for this post as I was still contemplating what I was supposed to write about:
Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord.
Sure we can sit there and plan out the straightest path possible for our lives, but in the end, the journey that we will go on as we make our way down our path will be so much different than we plan. There will be times of falling into the valley, times when we are on top, times when we are working to just stay in the boat and keep afloat, and times of storms. The perceived bad times can make us stronger and help us grow closer to God if we allow it and there are also going to be some pretty great times. The hard part sometimes is trusting God and letting go of the plans we made for ourselves. It is especially hard if we have gotten used to our current path, if it has become comfortable for us.
So where are your times of life when your plans didn't quite work out like you thought they would? Can you see God's hand at work during those times? Shaping and redirecting us for what he needs to prepare us for.
My plan....pediatrician. God's plan....educator and leader
My plan....4 healthy children. God's plan...2 children with complex medical issues.
My plan...staying in one school/one house for more than a few years (this was while growing up). God's plan.....10 schools from K-12th grade and about 15 homes from 0-18 years old. Irony I've been at the same house now for a little over 10 years and at times it makes me crazy being in one place so long.
My plan...getting a teaching job right out of college. God's plan...making me wait an extra year for the place he needed me to be in.
Or how about the times in life where you feel your life was wasted? For me, it feels like a large chunk of the past few years was a huge waste and all because a few uninformed parents chose to jump on other uninformed bandwagons to get all our hard work as teachers thrown out the window. And tonight I am especially frustrated all over again because the test I looked forward to my children getting to take that was taken off the table a few months ago (because of those same uninformed parents and others fought to get it thrown out too) has now been almost officially replaced with the one assessment I prayed so hard would get taken off the table. Now my children have to face unrealistic timed assessments. I know I have to look to see what God is teaching me in all this, but I can't help but feel as if we have stepped back several decades in the area of education. I pray I can let go of this soon.
The list could go on and on. Bottom line. I can be off the charts smart and intelligent, but even if I were I still cannot plan my life minute by minute, day by day. In Jeremiah 29:11 we are reminded that God has plans for us "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." So let us open up, let go, and let God.
Let us pray,
Lord, please help us to accept the plans you have in store for us and not fight you so hard when your plans and ours do not match. Open our hearts and our minds to listen to you and follow you instead of our worldly plans. Thank you for sticking with us no matter how stubborn we can be. Amen.
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