When The Plan Doesn't Happen

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. - Proverbs 16:9

Have you ever written out your five year plan? Or, if you were feeling ambitious, your ten year plan? Well when I was 16 years old, I wrote out my 13 year plan. I know, it’s a random number, but stick with me.

As just a junior in high school, I thought I had the rest of my teens and all of my twenties figured out. I was going to be the valedictorian of my graduating class. I was going to go off to college and study to become a Spanish teacher. I was going to meet my husband while in college and get married immediately following graduation. And then I’d work a few years before settling into a big white house and manage to crank out two kids before my 30th birthday.

Sounds like a dream, right? Well, that’s exactly what it was...a dream. Not a single part of that plan made its way into my reality.

It took me a while before I finally came to terms with the fact that my plan wasn’t going to pan out. And when I finally came to that conclusion, I found myself asking, “Well, now what?’

What am I supposed to do when my life looks nothing like I thought it would?

Have you ever asked yourself that question before? If not, I can pretty much guarantee that someday you will. Watching our plans get changed, shifted, and rearranged is an inevitable part of life. So how do we handle a reality that looks little to nothing like what we expected? And where does God fit in to all of this?

Just because your plans didn't work out, doesn’t mean your life is going to be mediocre, boring, or unexceptional.

So often, we think that we know what’s best for us, and therefore we think if our plans don’t come to fruition, we’ll have to settle for second best. That, my friend, is a big, fat lie. We are flawed human beings with limited perspective. When it comes down to it, we don’t really have any idea what is best for us. But thankfully, we have a Heavenly Father who is all-knowing, who sees everything, and who knows exactly what needs to happen in order for us to experience His best.

In the twelve years that have passed since I wrote out my 13 year plan, I’ve learned that God’s best for me always turns out to be better than what I thought was best for me. But it took my plans not working out and watching God’s plan develop for me to come to that conclusion.

So, if you find yourself in a place where your plans have crumbled, if you’re asking yourself, "What am I supposed to do when my life looks nothing like I thought it would?”, don’t get discouraged. Don’t believe the lie that your life won’t be as great, wonderful, and exciting as you always hoped. Instead, trust that your Heavenly Father knows best, and that He has more in store for you than you could ever even dream up or list out on your own.