when God's plans aren't your plans... and vice versa...
I have been a slacker this month. Last month, too. I've had a hard time cranking out blog posts, and I feel like I'm falling behind. That's the thing about writing, if you don't stay on top of it, it's sure to get away from you. I almost wish I would have kept up my daily posts because we all know what happens when accountability goes missing. None the less, I'll get back on this horse. At least for tonight, that is.
Well my last blog post was all about Sugar Bug. So, if you missed that one, here's a quick recap... I'm pregnant! I could have summed up that whole post in those two words. But you know me, words are my thing and so are stories. After all, those are what we remember, right? I have made a promise to myself that all of my next posts will not be about pregnancy. But some will because I write about my experiences. The good, the bad, the ugly, and even the disappointing. That's life. My life, your life. No matter how different they might be, we all have ups and downs. Maybe we don't all like to share said ups and downs, but that's something that certainly won't change with this experience. I expect it to be good, I am sure it will be hard, and I imagine some days won't go as well as others. Nothing new, if you think about it that way. Sounds like every other life stage, if you ask me.
I have always been a daydreamer. A planner, too. A day planner... actually, that's a calendar. So maybe a dream-planner. From the time I was a little girl, I have been planning out my future and exactly how I thought it would go. I always expected that when I found out I was pregnant, I'd come up with the best way to surprise everyone with the news. I thought about that day often, especially over the past few years. A woman announcing her pregnancy is the equivalent of a man proposing, right? So I wanted to surprise my husband, my family, and my co-workers with this most elaborate and unforgettable announcement. Well, to save you a few minutes of reading, I'll cut to the chase. I didn't get to elaborately announce my pregnancy to anyone. Every single announcement opportunity I had was ruined by other plans. I knew I couldn't keep the secret to myself any longer, as I had known for a month, so Aaron and I just began telling people. And although we were super excited and thrilled to share, many people just smiled and said, "Congratulations! That's great!" And that was it! I guess I somewhat expected people to be as thrilled as we were, but then again, why? I think this baby is pretty much the most incredible thing ever, but doesn't every other mom-to-be think that very same thing? Babies are born every single second of every day, again a very special thing, but I'm not doing anything new here. I'm kind of sort of doing what's expected. I'm married, I'm almost 30, so no one was really too surprised to learn I am having a baby no matter how shocking the news was to me.
Sometimes things go the way we planned. Sometimes they don't. And what happens when your plans are ruined? Better yet, what happens when your plans aren't God's plans? What happens when the very thing you've been dreaming about, thinking about, doesn't work out as you imagined? Well, you're not alone. I'll be real honest with you, although I think you already know this, my plans have never been God's plans. My plans have never gone the way I planned. In fact, there have been many moments in life, after great amounts of disappointment, where I simply had to stop making up my own plans and say, "Okay God, you know my heart's desire. Your word says that when I delight in you, you will meet that desire. So I'm just handing this to you and trusting you to meet it because I don't know what else to do." And God has. Every time, God has. But it looks different. It's rarely in a way that I expect. And I've come to realize that, just as the prophet Isaiah said, God's ways really are higher. I don't always understand them, especially as they are unfolding, and I don't always know why. But God does. He sees everything from beginning to end. He sees your beginning to your end. He has mapped out every second of your life, and He certainly has a plan for you. And so what you must realize is that just because God's plan might look nothing like your own does not mean it's a bad plan. God is good, and a good God is going to create a good plan for you. It won't look like mine, or like hers, or like your sister's, or like your best friend's. Why, you ask? Because it is YOUR plan.
And so if you're waiting and if you're wondering, if your plans are failing and you don't know why, ask Him. He has the answers, and who better to ask than the One who knows! But be willing to let go. Be willing to lay your plans at His feet and lift up empty hands ready to receive. Something. I don't know what, but something. Because God will supply. In the way you're expecting? Probably not. In the very way you want? Probably not. But God has good things planned for you, better than you would think up on your own. And when God's plan becomes your plan, you'll be forever grateful that you trusted Him.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9
Well my last blog post was all about Sugar Bug. So, if you missed that one, here's a quick recap... I'm pregnant! I could have summed up that whole post in those two words. But you know me, words are my thing and so are stories. After all, those are what we remember, right? I have made a promise to myself that all of my next posts will not be about pregnancy. But some will because I write about my experiences. The good, the bad, the ugly, and even the disappointing. That's life. My life, your life. No matter how different they might be, we all have ups and downs. Maybe we don't all like to share said ups and downs, but that's something that certainly won't change with this experience. I expect it to be good, I am sure it will be hard, and I imagine some days won't go as well as others. Nothing new, if you think about it that way. Sounds like every other life stage, if you ask me.
I have always been a daydreamer. A planner, too. A day planner... actually, that's a calendar. So maybe a dream-planner. From the time I was a little girl, I have been planning out my future and exactly how I thought it would go. I always expected that when I found out I was pregnant, I'd come up with the best way to surprise everyone with the news. I thought about that day often, especially over the past few years. A woman announcing her pregnancy is the equivalent of a man proposing, right? So I wanted to surprise my husband, my family, and my co-workers with this most elaborate and unforgettable announcement. Well, to save you a few minutes of reading, I'll cut to the chase. I didn't get to elaborately announce my pregnancy to anyone. Every single announcement opportunity I had was ruined by other plans. I knew I couldn't keep the secret to myself any longer, as I had known for a month, so Aaron and I just began telling people. And although we were super excited and thrilled to share, many people just smiled and said, "Congratulations! That's great!" And that was it! I guess I somewhat expected people to be as thrilled as we were, but then again, why? I think this baby is pretty much the most incredible thing ever, but doesn't every other mom-to-be think that very same thing? Babies are born every single second of every day, again a very special thing, but I'm not doing anything new here. I'm kind of sort of doing what's expected. I'm married, I'm almost 30, so no one was really too surprised to learn I am having a baby no matter how shocking the news was to me.
Sometimes things go the way we planned. Sometimes they don't. And what happens when your plans are ruined? Better yet, what happens when your plans aren't God's plans? What happens when the very thing you've been dreaming about, thinking about, doesn't work out as you imagined? Well, you're not alone. I'll be real honest with you, although I think you already know this, my plans have never been God's plans. My plans have never gone the way I planned. In fact, there have been many moments in life, after great amounts of disappointment, where I simply had to stop making up my own plans and say, "Okay God, you know my heart's desire. Your word says that when I delight in you, you will meet that desire. So I'm just handing this to you and trusting you to meet it because I don't know what else to do." And God has. Every time, God has. But it looks different. It's rarely in a way that I expect. And I've come to realize that, just as the prophet Isaiah said, God's ways really are higher. I don't always understand them, especially as they are unfolding, and I don't always know why. But God does. He sees everything from beginning to end. He sees your beginning to your end. He has mapped out every second of your life, and He certainly has a plan for you. And so what you must realize is that just because God's plan might look nothing like your own does not mean it's a bad plan. God is good, and a good God is going to create a good plan for you. It won't look like mine, or like hers, or like your sister's, or like your best friend's. Why, you ask? Because it is YOUR plan.
And so if you're waiting and if you're wondering, if your plans are failing and you don't know why, ask Him. He has the answers, and who better to ask than the One who knows! But be willing to let go. Be willing to lay your plans at His feet and lift up empty hands ready to receive. Something. I don't know what, but something. Because God will supply. In the way you're expecting? Probably not. In the very way you want? Probably not. But God has good things planned for you, better than you would think up on your own. And when God's plan becomes your plan, you'll be forever grateful that you trusted Him.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9
Comments
Post a Comment