Change of plans

Well, the trip to the mountains fell through the cracks, so to speak. The other two families are experiencing enough sickness that the prospect of being outdoors (in the wind) all that time was not appealing. So instead, we are going to eat lunch together today. Later I am going to pick up the teenager-helpers I mentioned and take the boys to a big park to play. It doesn't bother me at all.

Changing plans doesn't bother me as much as it used to several years ago. Having kids, and especially kids with special needs, has made me very flexible. And that's a very good thing, believe me. Like having to change an article of clothing because a diaper leaks onto it (which I just did). Like trying to potty-train a six-year-old only to discover that he doesn't have the necessary bodily awareness/control yet. Like going to a graduation or wedding ceremony knowing that we may have to take turns taking the kids out, so that neither one of us will actually get to see the whole thing. And with the option of one of us taking the kids home while the other one stays for the reception. Yep, we are flexible

But I so much like having a plan in place, even if I'm prepared with an option B or C. One of the areas I've always struggled with in my relationship with God is in waiting for Him to reveal His plan. I know He has a plan. But I want to see it all laid out; not this one-step-at-a-time thing that requires so much faith. So what often happens is I have my plan in mind, and then God comes along and works something different and changes my plan.

I know it would be better if I waited on Him in the first place, and sometimes I do. But sometimes I don't. And sometimes it's hard to let go of those plans you made. I mean, you even have an option B, right? But God comes in with something copmletely different. The beauty, though, is that He always gives the grace and strength to help you through the plan He has laid out. Even if all you see is the one step ahead of you that has to be done first.