Something I have really been struggling with lately is planning. I can’t help it. It’s part of who I am, what I do for a living, and what I enjoy. However, this character trait of mine can easily become a negative thing in m life if I let it get too far ahead.
What do I mean? I mean sometimes in life we can plan and plan and plan, and when something doesn’t go exactly the way we had it envisioned in our heads, we get all bent out of shape. Well my friends, this has happened to me more times than I can count. Hear me. I’m not saying you should sit around and wait for things to happen and never get anything done, of course not. However, sometimes I feel like I push so much to get on to the next thing or part of life, that I get ahead of God, and the plans HE has for my life.
It’s so easy for me to have goals, wants, and dreams in my head. But in my life, practically nothing I “dreamed about” happening happened EXACTLY like I pictured it. The funny thing about it is a lot of the things that DID end up happening are way BETTER than I had planned them out myself. Shouldn’t that tell us something? God’s plans are SO much bigger and better than our little pea brains can even comprehend.
So then we say ok…”then why won’t God just TELL me His plans, so I will know what I am supposed to do.” Oh boy, I ask this one all the time. But the truth is, I am *gulp* glad I don’t know everything, because I would probably have run away screaming. If I knew I was going to move from a town I loved, if I knew my husband and I would have to deal with family betrayal and pain, and if I knew about 100 other things we have struggled with I would have been hiding under a table with my eyes closed hoping it was all a bad dream.
Friends, sometimes God DOESN’T reveal everything to us to protect us. He knows just how much we can handle in that moment, and wants to lead us step by step to the next thing when we are ready to handle it. Sometimes it is so frustrating, but I hope to be able to look back one day and see things happened just the way they were supposed to in just the right time they were supposed to.
I am glad it’s not up to me to plan every little detail of my life, because I would fail miserably. Sometimes we need to remember to not jump ahead, sit back and relax, and watch things unfold in the proper time. I know it will be worth it!
Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
QOTD: Are you a planner like me? Do you ever get frustrated when things don’t go according as planned or don’t happen as quickly as you would like?
OMG! Absolutely! I’m struggling with this very thing right now. I want something that I THINK is right and that I THINK God wants for me. I just can’t see a way to make it work. I keep praying that if it’s not right just take it away. He hasn’t done that yet but He also hasn’t shown me a path. So I wait.
Heather, what a great post. I’m sorry for whatever you have been going through, but everything you wrote here shows a grace and courage that is exactly what God asks of us. Beautifully written.
Great post! You know I have the same planning problem and feel the same way!
I’ve struggled so much with being unable to plan to everything! A few years ago I had to come to terms with it when I realized it was completely out of my control, but it’s still tough to deal with.
I plan small things but learned long ago not to plan big things, and not to plan out too far in advance. Life throws you curveballs all the time, and they’re unpredictable. I always hated getting the “where do you see yourself in 5 years” in interviews because I don’t plan that far ahead anymore. I also feel if I focus too much on plans, I don’t enjoy the spontaneous stuff.
ahhh the letting life unfold.
MAGICAL AND SO SO SO HARD.
xo
I am 100% the same way! I LOVE to plan, but I still absolutely agree that God has His reasons why everything doesn’t go “our” way. He knows His plans are so much better. 🙂
What an awesome post Heather! Definitely speaks to my heart. I am a planner and do not like when things don’t go my way. I know God is in control and I need to give 100% to him..not 90%.
I’m a MAJOR planner too, thanks for the reminder 🙂
I think this is one of your better posts !!!! It’s challenging to remember that we have to follow God’s plan not the other way around. Hope you keep up these sort of posts–it helps us all keep things in check.
I am the same way. I am professional planner. I am planning the move to my next house, looking up houses, etc. But I am not moving for 3-5 years. I always struggle with giving it up to God, but he knows better than me. What a great reminder!
It’s awesome when you can sit back after a certain situation is over and look to see how Gods hand was in it the entire time. I know that’s what will happen for you guys, too! ((Hugs)) friend!!
Great post, Heather! Like yourself, I like to plan things out and at times, at that very moment, when things don’t go the way I’d planned, I get upset. There are times when I come to the realization that it didn’t go the way I wanted because God had better and bigger plans for me, and I’m so thankful for that. Having dealt with loss and heartbreak, I was being saved from getting into a possibly worse situation. Sometimes we just have to let go and let God take over. Much love. xo
Planning is good. We just have to know that things rarely go exactly as we planned them even they do go our way. Hang in there and remember through the tough times that your friends are with you.
On another note, I never mention my blog when I comment but I know you love dogs so if you are looking for a smile you should check out my latest post at The Fat Runner. Talk about things not happening as planned!
oh I will check it out!
I’m a planner, it’s just who I am. I don’t do well when things don’t turn out the way I had planned. It’s hard to sit back and know that God’s plan trump our own, especially since his timetable may be very different from our own. Hang in there and have faith in your faith. That plan is solid. :o)
the timetable thing is so hard!
I am such a planner and it scares me to not have things planned, but what a reminder you’ve given me today! Thanks for sharing this! 🙂
no problem!
Well said. I struggle with this a lot too, and it almost always takes someone else to remind me that it isn’t MY plans that are important. Thank you for being that person today.
you are welcome 🙂
Thank you for writing this post. I needed to read this today. My “plans” have not been working out lately and it driving me crazy and making me worry more than what is healthy.
glad to help 🙂
It is so hard to let go…but Faith is what it is…believing when there’s no real reason to do so. There’s really no sense in worrying about things out of our control. I’m learning to actually be glad that I’m not in charge :p 🙂
I hope that your struggles are soon lifted and your prayers are answered. I too am a planner and can tell you the hardest thing we have ever gone through to date (3 miscarriages) certainly made it glaringly clear that we are not in control. But I know that those losses made me appreciate my full term pregnancies so much more than I would have if we hadn’t been through them. It was incredibly difficult at the time, but hind sight shows that everything happens at the right time, not on our time.
you are so i!rght