Plans with a capital S

For the last 20 years I have defined my life as BME and AME. Before my Marriage Ended and After my Marriage Ended. I’ve also looked at my life as Plan A and Plan B - a failure and a gift. I failed God’s Plan A for my life yet Plan B has been wonderful…after getting through the loss of Plan A. With Plan B came my kids meeting their spouses, my grandkids, my life and ministry in Rockford, IL, Phoenix, AZ, Denver, CO and now Sun Prairie, WI, not to mention the great friendships that I accumulated along the way.

I would describe my life as Guilt + Joy + Guilt. I feel guilty for having failed in God’s Plan A for me yet I have experienced indescribable joy in Plan B which has caused more guilt. How could I have such joy when I’m not living in God’s Plan A?

You find that confusing to read? Imagine living it. Yet, that is where I have lived. Always with a layer of guilt.

But this week, a shift happened. I started thinking about the famous words of Isaiah in Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

This is, hands down, one of THE most encouraging words in Scripture. I’ve quoted it many times as I have prayed for people. People who are discouraged, a bit lost, feeling hopeless and without direction. This verse has the potential to turn anyone around, knowing that God has a plan for them, a future and a hope.

But, I never thought of this verse in terms of PLANS. Not just A plan for getting out of the darkness, but planS that have been designed and laminated from the beginning of time.

For some reason, I have been thinking that God made a plan for me. And then I screwed it up. So he had to radio in Jesus and the Holy Spirit where they then gathered around a drafting table with their compass, rulers and markers to quickly come up with a Plan B. Because I failed their perfect plan for me.

But this week, God gave me a picture of a warehouse, thousands of warehouses (think Amazon, only bigger), filled with boxes of rolled architectural designs, or plans of our lives. Plans that start with birth and go all the way to the end of life. Because from the very beginning, the 3 in One, who live outside of time, planned out our lives, with all the “failures,” all the poor and great decisions we'd make, and all the changed trajectories. Nothing has been a surprise. There has never been a “Replacement Plan” because we screwed up. Because I screwed up. No. Just the opposite. When they gathered around that drafting table in those early days, they knew every detail of our lives and planned accordingly, with the greatest love the world has ever known. Filling box after box after box.

And my name is on one of those boxes. I am living out God’s planS for my life. And that is incredibly freeing for me. Instead of carrying around guilt, I now find myself eager to see what else the 3 Guys have come up with, the next future and hope that’s awaiting me. Oh, and there's more good news. My box still has rolls in it!! Yeah, baby! At 69 years old, I still have a slew of rolls to live. More futures. More hopes. So good-bye guilt and hello to planS C, D, E, F, G.....