Folding up my map

Mr. Wonderful read this to me last night.  It made both of us cry.  Read my last post and you'll understand why...

"You and your spouse may think you have your entire life mapped out.  You know where you are going, and you have figured out the way to get there.  But be forewarned:  You may run into delays and detours.  In fact, God may ultimately have in mind for you a change in destination. 

Proverbs 16:9 says, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

It's hard to discern what is happening when things seem to go awry along our life's journey.  Did we mark the map correctly?  Did we make the right turn?  Have we missed an important intersection?  Something's wrong.  Nothing looks familiar.  This is not the direction we're suppsoed to be going.  We must be lost!

When panic begins to set in, pull over for a few moments, shut off the car, and breathe a little prayer.  Ask God to calm your fears and help you understand what He's doing in your life.  Fold up your map, put it away, and pray for new direction, asking God to not only show you the way but ride with you and be your guide.  Then turn the key, shift into gear, and head on down the highway, trusting in the Lord's goodness and in His ability to take you where He knew all along you needed to go.

"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

We think we have control over our lives, don't we.  We so often live with the illusion that we know what the future holds for us and we plan accordingly...we plan to grow old together.  We budget and count on the fact that we will be working the same job five...ten...twenty years from now.  But then, unexpectedly, life happens.  Things change and we are taken by surprise.  Spouses die.  Or they leave.  Jobs end or companies shut down.  Our desires or the needs of our family changes.  Or our perspective does.  And suddenly, the road ahead seems less clear and we are unsure of which way to go as we find ourselves on an unexpected and sometimes scary path.

Vince and I are all too familiar with these situations, if not personally then we know someone else who has been.  I bet you have too.  And it can really throw us off balance for a while, can't it?  Somehow, I always blame God for it...as if He was obligated all along to adhere to MY plans for MY life, and now He has decided to turn the tables on me and mess things up, or let things get messed up, or whatever. 

But here I am again, reminded of the fact that Jeremiah didn't quote the Lord as saying "I know the plans that you have for yourself...", but rather "I know the plans that I HAVE for you".  (And it should say in parentheses "so shut up, stop whining and work with me here"). 

Ok, Lord.  I get it.  And thanks again for waking me up at 4am to tell me all this. 

Really, thank You.