9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Psalm 46:10
10 “Be still, and know that I am God! ……..
Jeremiah 29:11
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.
For months my family and I anticipated Spring Break. My husband is a teacher and traditionally I try to take a few days off during Spring Break, so that we can do something together. This year our daughter even arranged her vacation time, around our Spring Break time so we could all be together.
My daughter and I had some things planned that we wanted to do. We wanted to visit some nearby towns that we don’t typically get to visit. We even had shopping included in our activities. As planned, to kick off our Spring Break activities, our family took a quick two-day trip last weekend to visit my mother and my sister. We had an absolutely wonderful time. Little did we know that would pretty much be the end of the fun for our Spring Break.
On Sunday morning of our weekend trip, I remember feeling super tired and just not feeling well at all as I was getting dressed. I pushed through and the next day as we were packing to leave, I really started to feel worse.
The next morning after arriving back in town, I asked my husband if he could drive me to the doctor. My suspicions were correct. I was sick. When the doctor came back into the room, she announced that I had tested positive for Covid. This was not what I wanted to hear at all. I immediately called my daughter and suggested that she get tested, and she received that same news that I did. She had Covid also. What a Spring Break! The good news is that my husband tested negative, so we were thankful for that.
Although this threw some rain on our little parade, and clouds over our plans, I can honestly say that as always, God knew what He was doing. His timing was perfect. There was definitely a silver lining in our failed plans. What better time to get sick than when you have no commitments for the week. We were able to just rest, and my daughter definitely needed some R&R. No one had to feel bad because they were taking off from work due to sickness. We were able to simply rest and take care of ourselves.
Although my husband did not have Covid, he too was overdue for some much-needed rest. So, our God planned Staycation was exactly what we needed, and He knew long before we did that, we would need it.
We still hope at some point to follow through on our initial plans, but clearly it will be in God’s timing not ours.
What I have learned over the years when things haven’t gone as I planned or hoped, is that God is still in control.
Sometimes He is redirecting me. Sometimes He is simply saying rest, and sometimes He is protecting me. And through it all I have learned to be content with His will for my life, because I know that He will only allow and do what’s best for me.
My hope for you, is that you too will also learn to be content even during times of disappointment, knowing that He knows what’s best for you. His blessings far outweigh our disappointments, so hang in there and be ever hopeful something good is always headed your way when you are a child of God!
