The surprises of life

Have you ever had a day that unfolds completely differently than the way you originally envisioned it?  This happened to me recently.  I had a day that significantly differed from how I planned it.  I’ll spare you the particulars, but there were three important stops lined up.  One event ended up taking most of the day; another stop was rescheduled altogether; only one ended up unfolding with a semblance of how it was drawn up.  You try to be flexible, and keep in mind that, for better or worse, things don’t always go as you planned that they would.

This is really a good lesson for life as well.  Barry Allen, on the TV show “The Flash” recently said, “Everyone secretly thinks they’ve figured out what their life is going to be like.  But what no one ever considers is that life has its own plans for you; whether you like them or not.  And so you are left with a choice: you can either embrace the change and move forward, or fight it and be left behind.”  I resonated with this quote when I first heard it, so I wrote it out and I refer to it often.  It’s true.  You think you have your life figured out, but something happens, and suddenly, the landscape of your life looks completely different.

If you’ve spent any time with me on this blog before, you know that I wholeheartedly believe in God’s sovereignty, that He is in complete control.  Furthermore, you know full well that I’ve had to rest on the notion of God’s sovereignty as I walk a path of heartache and loss that I never envisioned I would have to walk.  God, in His sovereign will, knew that my life was going to change dramatically in 2015.  But rather than angrily shake my fist at God, I find it’s better to bow to His will, even – perhaps I should say especially – if His will includes pain.  

Kevin