I’m a planner. All who know me well, can attest to this. It either drives them crazy or they see it as an asset. My husband falls in the first category. He looks at my ‘best laid plans’ and just shakes his head. From mapping a trip to writing a book, my enthusiasm builds in these early planning stages. Plans give me hope and a purpose.
When the days grow longer and the grass gets it’s first hint of green, my planning self kicks in. I love to garden. Photos of flowering plants set my adrenaline surging. Even though the ground is obviously too cold and wet, I’m plotting out the rows of vegetables in my mind.
Some years the early cold crops like spinach, lettuce and beet seeds, may go in the ground by late March. However, Indiana weather proves unpredictable every spring. In 2019, I had nothing planted until mid May and many of the local farmers found the soil too wet to plant a number of their fields.
In reality, a person plots their course in faith never knowing if those intentions will be fulfilled. Life offers no guarantees that any scheme of man will come to fruition. But God’s plan will not be thwarted.
During my sister’s cancer journey, this life lesson burns in my heart. Every time the opportunity for positive change presented itself to fight the malignancy , some type of roadblock developed. None of us understand why but we keep moving forward in support of her just the same.
Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.
Proverbs 19:21 AMP
Rather than continuing to question ‘why’, I try to ask God ‘what’ instead. What purpose am I supposed to find in this struggle? What am I to learn through my sister’s suffering? I don’t know the answers to these questions yet, but this I understand.
Suffering drives me to the cross.
During this painful journey, I long for the arms of Jesus-the One who chose to bear great pain for me. He alone understands our suffering-the kind we endure ourselves and the kind we witness in others. He wipes away our tears and carries us through the darkest valleys. I find myself utterly lost without Him.
No one plans a trail of tears such as what life offers us now. It sometimes seems that every plan we make circumstances turn upside down. Nevertheless, I continue to plant in faith. I continue to sow that which is good and right. This is truly all God asks of us.
So, hold your best laid plans lightly. Plans do give hope and a purpose to your life but try to remember this- they may change in a heartbeat. God’s plan is bigger than anything we could ever imagine. What appears disasterous at this moment, may be the very thing needed all along.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
modern translation from Scottish poet Robert Burns
