Plan B

So my big day was yesterday. Well, what was supposed to be my big day. I have a confession to make to all you men out there: I like clothes. No, really I do. If I had money, I know I’d want to by expensive clothes. Ask Lisa. She knows that a birthday or Christmas (and maybe Father’s Day - there’s a hint) aren’t right if I don’t get an item of clothing. It’s sort of become a tradition. Which means, yes, pretty much all the clothes I own have been bought for me! But yesterday was the moment I have dreamed about for years. I got to try on my made-to-measure suit. The suit that I’m wearing at Meg and Justin’s wedding. Oh…wait…I wonder when that will be? I’m pleased to say the suit fitted perfectly and I was able to bring it home. The plan had come together. When I first went to enquire about having a suit made I was told to come back in a year’s time! So I did. I kept to the plan. We had it all worked out. There was enough time to choose the cloth, the lining, the cut, the buttons, the style and time to be measured And there was enough time to have it made and have a fitting to check for any alterations that might need to be made. And all for the date set for the wedding. But…but…now there is no wedding. Not now at least. Not when we planned it. So now, it’s plan B. Seems to me most of life is like that. We plane and prepare, we anticipate and schedule, we organise and get ready and then it changes. And sometimes it changes irrevocably. We call that tragedy. My best guess is we all know about tragedy. Living with Plan B is not what we want. I’m not sure it’s what God wants either. But, and here’s something I say as confidently as I say anything, I’ve come to think that God is the master of Plan B. Think about it. Some people want to believe that everything that happens is God’s will. I admire that faith, but I do not share it. I don’t share because I cannot believe a God is like that. Just look at what’s happening in the world. God’s plan A? Really? And Jesus on the cross wasn’t Plan A. God tried lots of things before we got to that! And case you now think I don’t believe in God, not true! I just think God’s better than that. Much, much better. He’s the master of Plan B. God is not thwarted when things go wrong, when people choose the way of evil, people like you and me. I wonder how many times in my life I have missed God’s best for my life. And what has God done? He’s not abandoned the plan, he’s changed it, gone with it and enabled me to keep walking, keep following. And in his wisdom, he weaves a new path. God, it seems, is able to work with whatever I throw at him. And you. And a world full of bad choices and evil choices. Plan B is not what I want. It’s not what any of us want. It’s not what God wants. But God is the master of Plan B. And I am so very grateful he is. And my biggest day is still to come. And for that day I will keep dreaming.