This Just Wasn’t MY Plan

Plan: strategy, intention, aim, intent, objective, goal, ambition

I remember thinking and saying those words so many times in my life “This isn’t what I (or we) planned!” How well I remember that place of feeling stuck. Our lives were just not going the way we had planned and although it was always the greatest desire of our hearts to trust the Father completely, trusting wasn't easy when our plans were wrecked and our dreams were relinquished to a divine design that we didn't understand.

We knew plenty of scriptures and quotes well that helped us to stay the course. We had "Expect a miracle" signs all over our home. We believed and spoke out “He did it before. He’ll do it again!” “Hold on, my child. Joy comes in the morning!” “When you’ve done all to stand, keep standing!” And I could hear those stories, coming from everywhere, of a plan that isn’t ours, of a God who knows so much better than we do.

Right now, you may be in the middle of trying to figure out what in the world is going on with the plans you made, too. You may be thousands of dollars in debt for a degree that you’re not sure you want any more or for that business start-up investment and “trends” aren’t on your side. You may look over at the empty space next to you in bed, aching for it to be filled with the spouse you thought would be here by now or for the one whose life was cut short. Or maybe your life is everything you hoped it would be, but there’s profound emptiness where contentment should be.

Best laid plans sometimes go awry! How many times do we make a plan, chart a course, set goals, cast vision, and even set out on a long-awaited dream-come-true adventure and it went all wrong? Most of those times, there are logical reasons beyond our control that keep us from our plans. Other times, it’s simply a matter of readjusting a schedule, and the plan can proceed. Changing the course or our mind isn't a bad thing. Having to reconfigure doesn’t make us a flip-flopper. In fact, accepting that God could be planning an even better outcome than what we had planned makes us flexible.

I know how hard it is to be grateful in the midst of uncertainty. It is much easier to look at where we are, line it up with where we thought we would be, and become fearful and frustrated about the differences. But our Heavenly Father knows exactly where we are and exactly where He desires us to be. God is not deaf to our prayers nor blind to our place. His ways are simply better.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

We can be angry that our lives have been disrupted, or we can trust that God is crafting a life for us that is far better than we could ever imagine. One of my favorite lines from the “God’s Not Dead” movie was “It’s not easy, but it’s simple.” I love this quote. It tells us a simple but profound message. Living the life is not always easy, but Christ’s message is simple “Trust me. I’ve got this. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life.” Our plans may go awry, and tough times may come unexpectedly, but we can be grateful for a God who loves us enough to wreck our plans when it is for our good and for His glory.

Maybe today you are smack dab in the middle of a story you would NEVER have chosen for yourself. I know I was supposed to share these words and this post today because God nudged me to tell you “You’re on the brink of a miracle. TRUST ME!" He asks us to have the courage to find the beauty in these times. We may not know what He’s doing, but because we love Him, we can trust that it’s good. He's a good, good Father and so are His best plans for us!

What a Difference Perspective Makes

Six years ago, I knew God had me on a mission. I knew I was mandated to "rise to the occasion". In spite of the challenging times we were in during that entire year, I knew God had given me a mandate that included finding the blessing in every situation we were encountering – to find the rainbow in the many rainy and cloudy days we were going through. Then, to write about it and live out “tough times don’t last but tough people do”. Help others see that in the worst of times, God will shine His bright light to penetrate the darkest nights. It was during those times that I begin to write blogs about our experiences. In the worst of times, with God's help, we prevailed and, in fact, found the silver lining in every one of those clouds. We realized that our perspective made the biggest difference. Rather than the perspective of "Why me? Why us?", we lived in the perspective of "being safe in the middle of the storm".

Along with my blogging, I was intent, each day, to find the “just right” photo or picture that would help me illustrate my point. I’d go through hundreds of photos before finding “the one”. That photo might have ended up being way too pixelated to use – especially when I enlarged the photo and added text to it. Could you have been able to tell that this distorted photo here was this girl and boy? When we are in the midst of a difficult season, it becomes overwhelming because we can’t see a way out or see what the purpose is or see when it will change. We want to know why and we want to make sense of it all. But when we take a moment to remember Who is painting the picture, we can rest in our faith.

When we let our own limited perspective get in our way, we miss Him in the middle of it all. When we dwell on the outcome, we miss what is happening now. He is right there with us. He knows the way. Isaiah reminds us that His ways and thoughts are beyond us. There are things we just can’t see or know. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.’ {Isaiah 55:8-9}

Perspective. You know the saying "You can't see the forest for the trees." Oftentimes we're so caught up in the middle of it all that we forget that we are smack dab in the place where God can fulfill His destiny and purpose in us the best. I know we all can look back on a time with a different perspective and see the hand of God at work.

Even though we may not see things clearly, just hold on. Time will pass and we will see it as clearly as He had planned. It will be like seeing with new eyes. Seeing things through His planned perspective. ‘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}

The first photo here is almost incomprehensibie, but once I tweaked it, it became perfectly clear -- two adorable kids (the youngest in each of my two children's families). Now we can sing that song " I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind, it's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) SON-Shiny day..

What a difference the proper perspective can make. Keeping our eyes focused on the Storm Chaser, the Burden Bearer, the Safe Shelter -- keeps our perspective in focus!

What a Difference Perspective Makes

Six years ago, I knew God had me on a mission. I knew I was mandated to "rise to the occasion". In spite of the challenging times we were in during that entire year, I knew God had given me a mandate that included finding the blessing in every situation we were encountering – to find the rainbow in the many rainy and cloudy days we were going through. Then, to write about it and live out “tough times don’t last but tough people do”. Help others see that in the worst of times, God will shine His bright light to penetrate the darkest nights. It was during those times that I begin to write blogs about our experiences. In the worst of times, with God's help, we prevailed and, in fact, found the silver lining in every one of those clouds. We realized that our perspective made the biggest difference. Rather than the perspective of "Why me? Why us?", we lived in the perspective of "being safe in the middle of the storm".

Along with my blogging, I was intent, each day, to find the “just right” photo or picture that would help me illustrate my point. I’d go through hundreds of photos before finding “the one”. That photo might have ended up being way too pixelated to use – especially when I enlarged the photo and added text to it. Could you have been able to tell that this distorted photo here was this girl and boy? When we are in the midst of a difficult season, it becomes overwhelming because we can’t see a way out or see what the purpose is or see when it will change. We want to know why and we want to make sense of it all. But when we take a moment to remember Who is painting the picture, we can rest in our faith.

When we let our own limited perspective get in our way, we miss Him in the middle of it all. When we dwell on the outcome, we miss what is happening now. He is right there with us. He knows the way. Isaiah reminds us that His ways and thoughts are beyond us. There are things we just can’t see or know. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.’ {Isaiah 55:8-9}

Perspective. You know the saying "You can't see the forest for the trees." Oftentimes we're so caught up in the middle of it all that we forget that we are smack dab in the place where God can fulfill His destiny and purpose in us the best. I know we all can look back on a time with a different perspective and see the hand of God at work.

Even though we may not see things clearly, just hold on. Time will pass and we will see it as clearly as He had planned. It will be like seeing with new eyes. Seeing things through His planned perspective. ‘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}

The first photo here is almost incomprehensibie, but once I tweaked it, it became perfectly clear -- two adorable kids (the youngest in each of my two children's families). Now we can sing that song " I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind, it's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) SON-Shiny day..

What a difference the proper perspective can make. Keeping our eyes focused on the Storm Chaser, the Burden Bearer, the Safe Shelter -- keeps our perspective in focus!