Plans

 We all make plans, all the time. If we don't have some plans, our lives go nowhere, or at least not where we would like. Without plans, my glass work would be chaos!

But, as Christians, we deeply know what Proverbs 16:9 says: "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." When we lean into the Lord with our entire lives, our plans are in accordance with His will, and He brings our plans to fruition.

But what about a (seemingly) good plan, a prayed-about plan, a plan to serve... Isn't that what God calls us to???

Yes. But God doesn't promise to fulfill all of our plans, even our good ones. He promises to fulfill all of His plans; and He promises that all of His plans are perfect! And God knows every one of our days, before we're even born (Psalm 139:16)... the good ones, the bad ones, and all the rest.

Sometimes, we work toward something that seems worthy and good... But God's plans don't included this particular thing. I have glass pieces like that: I've started (or even finished) them, and they just don't look good. Not worth framing for some reason.

Our family has worked toward moving one grandparent to our home. We prayed and felt peace with our decision to share our home. Expanding our family seemed good and right.

But it's not in God's plan. We received a call yesterday that this grandparent was going into a different care situation. We had all preparations made in our home. We had support services in place. It all seemed so right...

Our first reaction to the change was disappointment. A grief of not being able to share this beloved grandparent's remaining time. But slowly, as we talked and explored our newly-changed future, we realized that there were many positives in this new situation. That God's plan was, indeed, better than ours.

We look forward to walking the days that God has provided for us. His plans are perfect, and it's exciting to move forward into more days, leaning into God for all our needs.

Happy New Year.