Have Plans?
Marriage mart mamas make for great writing fodder. Mamas who scheme to match their sons and daughters with the best potential spouse create lovely tension and comedy. In Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet schemes to afford her daughter, Jane, access to Mr. Bingley by sending her to his house when clouds are ready to burst with rain. Mrs. Bennet’s plan worked (sort of), for it started to downpour before Jane arrived at the Bingley household, and she was required to stay. However, Jane ended up catching a wretched cold and spending most of her time bedridden in the guest chamber.
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” ~ Boxer Mike Tyson.
Like Mrs. Bennet, we can have the best of plans only to watch them go awry. I was supposed to be a psychologist. I got as far as a master’s degree, and now it’s the most expensive framed picture in my attic. Psychology as an industry has a high burnout rate, and I’m grateful that God pulled me out before I turned fried and crispy. Fortunately, the schooling and knowledge have been useful in my writing. My original plan looked different than how I live today, but I wouldn’t change a thing. God knew me better than I even knew myself.
Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
A teammate on my son’s wrestling team, who’s an excellent wrestler and highly ranked, lost his first two matches at states, a double-elimination tournament. He was disappointed to be going home early. But what he and his family didn’t know was that a propane pipe had burst in their house while his younger sister was sleeping, and the carbon monoxide detector didn’t go off. If they hadn’t returned home when they did, their family could have suffered a much greater loss.
Psalm 18:30 states, “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.”
God’s ways are higher than our ways. We may have great plans and dreams, only to be disappointed or feel like a failure when they don’t pan out, but we don’t always see the bigger picture. What I love about wrestling is that a wrestler has to learn to quickly shake off a loss, focus, and get back on the mat because their next opponent awaits. We, too, have to shake off our disappointments and losses and keep our hearts and minds prepared for what God is doing next.
Faith comes into play when we trust that God will make a better way for us. It may not be how we pictured our lives, but ultimately, He is in control. We can trust that God desires the best for His children because He has greatly sacrificed for us.
