When God's Plans are Way Better than Ours

In 1986, we moved to Canada on a ministry mission. It was a 100% faith-venture for all of us, including my mom. We had no idea what the future would hold, but we knew Who held our future. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

I’ll limit the adventures of the next seven years to this one story that helps explain that scripture in our lives and, perhaps, in yours. Our daughter had a huge Oklahoma basketball career ahead of her and was chosen for the Junior Olympics BB team. In Canada, women's basketball was not quite there yet, so good-bye basketball. (FYI - the girl's still got game!) 😉🏀

We realized this girl needed grooming after having been a basketball “jock” for many years. On the bench, she would sit with her legs spread apart. I would hand-signal her: "Close those legs!" We put her into modeling school to help with poise and stage presence. Someone noticed this bubbly, outgoing, singing-machine girl and recommended that she try out for the local Miss Teen Winnipeg Pageant. She did and went "all-in"! Within days of the pageant, the directors deemed she would be the sure winner so they disqualified her from the competition. The reason? Her southern drawl just didn't epitimoze a girl from "the Great North". Though she was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada because of her dad’s Canadian citizenship, the ball dropped on her aspirations...again.

Her daddy (her coach and number one promoter) was steamed at the bias and prejudice against his girl. He was on his way to getting legal counsel when God reminded him of that scripture above. It was heart-wrenching at the time, but “oh the plans God had for her”. Not long after, an aunt called us and recommended that she try out for the David Foster Coca Cola World Chorus that would represent many countries at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Staci was one of 8,500 Canadians chosen by David Foster to represent Canada. She went on to be a soloist at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The next year, at age 18, after training her voice to be less “southern”, she won the Miss Winnipeg Manitoba Pageant and won the talent portion of the Miss Canada Pageant,

I could go on and on about the doors that opened to our girl. Who knew that a huge step of faith would open so many doors? God did. It’s been years since those seven years of “Canadian plenty”, but I often find myself thinking about those years when my plans don’t unfold as I’d hoped. When I’m praying for open doors, yet they remain closed; when I’m pleading for a “yes,” but the answer is “no”; when I’m asking for change, but everything seems to stay the same. I remind myself of the truth that my daughter once learned: A frustrating “no” may be setting the stage for a forthcoming “yes.”

We have a loving Father who knows things we don’t. And sometimes, He needs to “wreck” our agenda in order to render His. It takes faith to believe that promise when life isn’t going as we’d expected. But I’m learning that we don’t need to know all of God’s ways to accept His will. We simply need to trust His heart. God is for us, not against us When we remember who God is, we can better embrace what He’s doing, even if He says “no.” Someday, when we look back at our lives through eternity’s lens, we’ll want to throw our arms around our faithful Father and say, “Thanks for spoiling my plans, Dad. Yours were even better!”

Living our Faith Out-Loud – De-Compartmentalized

When I blogged about compartmentalizing" our lives yesterday, I didn't mean it for our faith. Our faith is an exception. You know -- that "keeping it to ourselves" compartment. We've all heard the saying: “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” The idea is that when people go to Las Vegas, they get a license to do things they would never normally do. So what if you cheat on your wife? This is Vegas! So what if you are irresponsible with your money? This is Vegas! So what if you…?

Here’s what I mean. When it comes to our faith, many Christians compartmentalize it like that “Vegas” saying: “What happens at church, stays at church,” or “What happens away from church, stays away from church.” Many live their faith out only on Sundays at church and, outside the church, their lives are faith-less and lacking the fruit of the Spirit. They blend in so much with unbelievers that it's hard to tell a difference in them. Their light is dimmed by the way they speak and act when faced with a challenge or a follow employee who gets on their nerves. They remain silent when someone brings up the subject of pro life, chastity, faithfulness in marriage and going to church.

We are called to be Christians (devoted followers of Christ) not just some of the time, but all of the time. As Jesus’ followers, we’re called to continually grow in our relationship with God, and to help others do the same. We see our daily interactions as opportunities to live our faith out in word and deed. Keeping God front and center in all that we are and do, and being open and authentic about our faith with those around us . Living our faith out loud is an important part of the process of helping others become disciples who make disciples.

St.Paul gave us a glimpse into how to live out our faith in front of others -- de-compartmentalized: "We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2:8-12).

We can be recognized by the fruit we produce in our lives. What kind of fruit are we producing? More than that, what kind of fruit are others noticing we are producing when they see us on a daily basis? Are we producing the fruit of the Spirit that are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Our faith and commitment to Christ is a 24/7 proposition -- not just when everyone is looking at us, but also when no one is looking. Time to de-compartmentalize our faith – and live audaciously as fully, all-in-followers of Christ!