Best Made Plans

We all do it. We make plans; we sit with our spouses, friends, siblings and parents and talk about where we’ll be in one year, five years, even ten years.

We envision new homes, new babies, fun vacations, new jobs.

Even before Matt and I got married we started ‘planning’ our lives – where we would live, when we’d get a dog, when we’d have our first child. Oh, we had a long list of things all planned out.

We planned for Matt make a lot of money playing basketball in Europe. We planned to live overseas for a few years and then move back to Colorado and buy a large home. We planned to have four children. We just kept planning… kept looking towards the future.

When those plans didn't work out we were disappointed.  Frustrated that things didn't go our way.

And along the way I had someone tell me “when we make plans, God laughs.”

I smiled, agreed, and kept on planning. We continued to sit and talk about our plans. In Europe we had more time than we knew what to do with. This is a dangerous thing.

Our conversations always drifted to “let’s just get through this year and then we will move back to the US, buy a home, start a family”. Sadly, all of that planning left little time for just enjoying what we had in that moment - the freedom to just be us.

No responsibilities, no bills, no schedule. All the time in the world to just enjoy each other’s company.

Spend hours just sitting at a local café.

Freedom to travel when we pleased (as long as Matt didn’t have a game).

Freedom to stay up late and sleep until noon.

Yet we continued to plan for the future. There were many times when we even talked about living in the moment and enjoying each day but then we’d somehow go back to planning.

What type of house we wanted, what we’d be doing for the next holiday. How would we afford to have children.

Fast forward four years and I have to admit I haven’t changed much. We still sit in the backyard and plan our future. Only now that future has changed. Our priorities have changed. I guess we’ve grown up a bit :)

And when I think about all the plans we’ve made over the last six years (yes, our wedding anniversary is coming up next week!) I know that many of the plans we’ve made and have yet to make will never come to fruition. Or if they do, it will not be on our terms.

When we make plans, God laughs.
God knew the day each of us would be born and he knows the day each of us will die. What we have in between is an opportunity to fulfill the wants God has as He lays out opportunities in front of us. It is the small things in each day that make us who we are and make life worth living.

But I continue to search for the grand deeds, the big events in my life instead of recognizing the small miracles and blessings. I know he has plans for me and they may not match up with the plans I’ve made for myself.

So as I sit her making plans (again) about moving back to Colorado, having a second child, finding my dream job, I’m trying to do better. To be better. To put my life and trust in His hands. To not look to tomorrow so much and live intentionally in the moment.

To live for Him