The Best-laid Plans

“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.”            Jeremiah 29:11

 “Man makes plans . . . and God laughs.”          Michael Chabon

Spiritual lessons come in all shapes and sizes, colors and genders.  Most of the recent lessons I’ve learned have been in the swimming pool, but they can occur on dry land as well. Case in point:  this past weekend I had the privilege to officiate at an intimate outdoor wedding.  It was one of the nicest weddings I have been involved with because the young couple was incredibly easy-going.

This wasn’t the wedding they had planned; Covid-19 forced them to change the date (it was postponed two months), the place (moved to the backyard of the bride’s parents) and the number of people attending (immediate family only).  And even with all those changes, it was a beautiful ceremony and a beautiful day.

In my brief message I told the couple that this was a wonderful illustration of life:  you make plans and then all too often circumstances force you to change those plans.  Since these two young people had already shown great flexibility and grace in changing their wedding plans, I told them that boded well for their future together.

It was a good lesson for me as well.  I’m a planner, or at least try to be.  I like to have everything mapped out in advance and don’t particularly like surprises (like the power going out while I was in the middle of writing this post).  But, what is life if not one unexpected surprise after another? As the Scottish poet Robert Burns famously wrote –

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Mine certainly do.  And thank God that they do, because things usually turn out much better than I had planned.  While my life has been full of unexpected twists and turns, it has been those very twists and turns that has made it so much fuller and richer than anything I had imagined.  Perhaps my plans were small because my vision of God was small.  Or perhaps my plans were small because I didn’t involve God in them at all.

God is prepared to shower us with blessings; that’s a fact many of us overlook.  But, we tend go our own way, make our own plans, live our lives without giving God much thought at all.  Until something goes wrong. Then all too often we blame God for what happened.

But, even in the midst of heartache, when our plans have been laid to waste, there are blessings to be found.  Yesterday I visited a friend who is on hospice and not far from the end of her life.  Amid the sorrow was the blessing of seeing the mutual love and care shown by her family.  It was truly inspiring and it was a good reminder that no matter how alone we may feel, we are never truly alone.  God is with us, often in the form of family and friends.

Life rarely goes according to (my) plan.  But, instead of fighting, I’m trying to learn to relax and float along with all of these changes.  Floating takes trust: in the pool it takes trust in the water; in life it takes trust in God.

God has a plan for each one of us.  God has a plan for you.  Be open to God’s leading.  You may find yourself in uncharted waters, but there is no need to fear.  God has a plan.

Grace and peace.