“A man’s mind plans his way (as he journeys through life), But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.”  Proverbs 16:9 AMP

I’m not a person who likes surprises.  I know, surprising, right?  🙂  For me, the joy is in “the planning”!  Am I a “type-A” kind of person who likes things predictable?  YES!  Absolutely, yes.  Very much so.  I want to know what is coming, when it is coming, and for how long it will be happening.  If I’m on a road trip, I have the maps ready, the snacks in a bag, the itinerary in my hands, and my watch handy to check the time.  My sweet hubby once took my watch away on a vacation because I was so afraid of being late for our next event that it was sucking up all the fun for him in being spontaneous and just relaxing.  Really!!  It was horrible not to have my watch on that day!  🙂  That was early on in our marriage and I learned to keep my watch-checking to a discreet minimum! 😉  BUT…I don’t like surprises.  I don’t want anything to mess up THE PLAN!  Cause…I’m a planner, what can I say?

So it’s no wonder that I like my LIFE to be planned out and predictable as well.  Doesn’t everyone? 😉  I have “destinations” that I want us to be at in life.  In order to get there…I need to plan!  But it seems that as much as I plan for things to happen certain ways, or in certain times…they never happen according to MY plan.  I sound like a whiny kid when I say it like that, don’t I?

It’s almost as if God looks at my plans, smiles, and does the complete opposite most of the time!  “Is this one of those stretching seasons again, God?  Didn’t we just do one of those?”  😉 So, as my plans get “thwarted”, I create new plans of course…and again the opposite or something totally out of the blue sets us off course again!! Seriously??  “But God…I have these PLANS!  Didn’t you see them?  Didn’t you get my last memo which included all the specifics as to what should happen and when?”

“Surprise!” God says. 🙂

Oh yeah.  He got the memo!!  But…I’m not the only one with plans.  I’m realizing that He’s created a few plans too!  I know, I know…I’m slow…but I’m catching on!

Now, I have to say, the things that DO happen instead aren’t necessarily BAD…they just weren’t according to “my plan”.  In fact, I will honestly admit to you that MOST of the time…the things that happen set us on a course to things that are better than what was on my plan!  For example, when Mike lost his job, it gave me the courage to go back into teaching again full time.  After being a stay-at-home mom for 11 years, I felt afraid to go back to work full time.  I may have talked myself out of it otherwise.  But Mike’s job situation was not in our plan…no one plans for a job loss…yet God used that circumstance to give me the courage to go back to teaching and it turned out to be an incredible blessing!  I’ve always loved teaching and it feels good to be back!  In fact, I teach at the same school my kids go to, so I see them MORE…which is another blessing from God!  Not my plan…but yet a better one than I had.

So…I’ve decided to stop planning so much.  Truly.  I’m going to dream instead and do more of my planning WITH God than on my own.   My plans just seem to pale in comparison to the ones HE has for my life, and I think I’m just going to lean back into his embrace, let HIM steer the boat and just enjoy the ride!  Sounds nice, doesn’t it?  I think that’s called trusting God.

We recently moved and I have this cute little patio now that my Dad (an amazing native plant gardener) has helped me transform into this amazing garden!  I like to go sit out there in the mornings with my coffee, my Bible, plug into some worship music and just spend time loving Jesus!  🙂 It’s a great way to start the day.  Last week my Dad came over to add a few more flowers to the garden and planted two red ones that would soon bloom.  Well, guess what bloomed?  One red one…and one PINK one!  A pink one??

“Surprise!!”

God’s timing cracks me up!

I noticed it this morning as I was thinking about God’s plans being better than ours and how great the unexpected can be.  I love my pink flowers!!!   I didn’t have pink in the garden yet, and God knew that.  This was His funny way of telling me His plans are good!  I AM on the right track and His plans are always far and above better than my own!

“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