when life gets in the way
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
My activities for September were added to my iPhone, written on my calendar and even announced in a blog post weeks before they were scheduled to happen. Since the beginning of September, I have pressed the “delete event” button many times. I have erased and crossed out events on my paper calendar as well. Life has gotten in the way of my schedule. Do you ever feel like that? I have things to do, people to see, places to go. Excuse me but I have plans. And then the phone rings or the hurricane blows into town then a second hurricane follows. For me it was the text from my sister that mum took an unexpected turn for the worst. She would pass into eternity much quicker than we ever thought possible. “Sorrow last for a night but joy comes in the morning.” That weekend spent with my two sisters brought healing to relationships that were longed for but never believed possible. And just when I thought I was getting my schedule back, a phone call from my daughter with a request for backup childcare changed my schedule for this week.
Last night I realized that even though the past three weeks went in a completely different direction than what was written on my calendar I had accomplished good number of things in less time, without feeling stressed and spent cherished time with family. Please hear me – I don’t have it all together. I am retired so I have more flexibility in my schedule and I live alone so I only have my schedule to content with. But I don’t believe the aforementioned things are what has made a difference in my month. I think and believe that the Lord is ever patient in teaching me to trust Him and to not lean on my own schedule. September has looked different than I thought it would but I can honestly say “It is well with my soul.”
I learned to have a “rough” calendar for a month. It never turns out how I had it planned. I am glad that you had some family time this past month for healing relationships.
In my new retired life, I’m learning to listen to the Holy Spirit’s quiet voice. Recently I wanted to attend a refreshing church event for women, but I distinctly felt a “No” about signing up. It turned out that the weekend the event occurred, my mother had a pacemaker surgery and required some extra attention. I felt this prompting last February when I told my department Dean not to put my name on the class schedule. It has not been a mistake. I keep a calendar as well, but the day’s best direction comes from my morning prayer time. My advice to younger ones is “PLAN, but LISTEN.”
Thank you, Ann. Love you
Ann, life is full of changes and even on those days that I can’t mark everything off of my to-do list, I can look back and see how God had me where He needed me to be for that Day. Some things can wait til tomorrow. Hee hee.