gracealongtheway

This is something I should have probably already learned this year—but apparently, it needs to be ingrained into my memory:

Plans change.

This weekend, I was supposed to be going away to celebrate my anniversary.

We don’t always make a big ordeal out of anniversaries. Sometimes it’s just a small moment, a quiet dinner, or simply being intentional about spending time together. But I’ve always wanted to be intentional about celebrating the big things in my life.

And especially after the year we’ve had, I wanted this anniversary to be extra intentional.

So I went all in.

I found this beautiful mansion in the woods for us to stay at. I planned activities. I got excited about actually getting away, slowing down, and spending intentional time together.

The plans were finalized.

Everything was ready to go.

And then yesterday—the day before we were supposed to leave—I got an email from the hotel.

They had been hit by a storm and would be without power beyond the dates of our stay.

So…what does that mean?

For some people, that might be a challenge. An adventure. Maybe even something exciting.

For me?

Nope.

Everything is canceled.

Gone.

Zip.

Zero.

None.

Cue the freak-out moment.

And yet, once again, I was reminded of something God has apparently been trying to teach me over and over again:

Plans change.

We don’t always end up with the same plans we started with.

Sometimes we change our plans because our dreams change. Sometimes our plans change because circumstances change. And sometimes God redirects our plans completely.

And ultimately, throughout my life, I want my plans to move from what I want to do for myself toward wanting to do God’s will.

Which brings me to the second thing I’m apparently still learning:

I’m not in control. Period.

I can think I’m in control.

I can plan.

I can organize.

I can prepare.

I can make lists.

I can have everything perfectly figured out.

But I’m still not in control.

There are external circumstances that can completely change what happens, regardless of what we do.

You can wake up on time. You set your alarm. You get up, get dressed, get in your car, and start driving to work.

And then there’s a car accident that causes traffic, and suddenly you’re late.

You did everything right.

You weren’t irresponsible.

You weren’t trying to be late.

But you were still out of control of the situation.

Nothing you did caused it, but it still happened.

This year has been a constant reminder to me that I am not in control.

And honestly?

That’s a really hard lesson for me.

Because if I’m not in control, then I have to trust the One who is.

I have to let God control my life.

He is the Author.

He is the Creator.

He knows the beginning, the middle, and the end.

So why shouldn’t I trust Him with my life?

I should.

But apparently, I still need reminders.

My canceled weekend plans reminded me of that pretty quickly.

In fact, I have a watch that tells me when I’m really stressed. Last night, I got an alert that my stress was high—like, really high—and that I needed to calm down.

And how did my mind respond?

“Calm down?”

No.

My mind said:

FREAK OUT EVEN MORE.

And for a little while, I did.

But this morning, I stopped and thought:

What am I doing?

I’m doing it again.

I’m trying to control everything.

I’m putting everything on my shoulders.

I’m taking one situation and making it heavier than it needs to be.

I’m allowing something I cannot change to steal the peace I actually can have.

So what should I be doing instead?

Giving it to God.

So I sat down with my cup of coffee and prayed.

I prayed for intentional moments with God.

I opened my Bible, and as I sat there, something changed.

There was peace.

Not because my plans had magically been restored.

Not because I suddenly knew what the weekend would look like.

Not because I had everything figured out.

There was peace because I intentionally stopped.

I became still.

And I allowed God to fill me back up again.

He reminded me that I’m not in control.

But He is.

I may never understand all of my circumstances.

I may never know why I got sick.

I may never understand why certain things happened this past year.

I may never know why our plans for this weekend had to change.

But ultimately, they changed.

It happened.

And God is still with me.

That email that changed my plans didn’t change who God is.

He’s still there.

He’s still listening to my worries.

He’s still helping me through them.

He’s still reminding me that I don’t have to be in control.

I don’t have to worry.

My anxiety doesn’t get to win.

And sometimes the circumstances that feel absolutely huge in the moment are, in reality, just tiny grains of sand in the bigger picture of our lives.

Not every difficult moment is some huge spiritual battle.

Sometimes life just happens.

Storms happen.

Plans change.

People disappoint us.

Things break.

Doors close.

Schedules get rearranged.

And in the best of it and the worst of it, God is there.

He’s there to give us comfort and grace.

And sometimes He’s there to convict us, too.

Sometimes He lovingly shows us:

“Wow. That’s not who you should be.”

Or:

“That’s not what you should have done.”

But He does it in a loving way.

He’s teaching us.

Just like we teach our children.

Just like we teach our students.

We don’t correct them because we want them to fail. We correct them because we want them to grow.

We guide them because we love them.

And God does the same for us.

He’s there to help us, guide us, and lead us so that we can grow—and ultimately share that same love with other people so they can experience His transforming work in their own lives.

So, I may not have plans for this weekend…

Yet.

But I’m sure we’ll still do something.

And I may not be completely past the freaking-out part, because let’s be honest—once I start making new plans, I might forget all of this again.

But I know He’ll remind me.

Again.

And again.

And again, if He needs to.

Because apparently, this is something I need to keep learning:

Plans change.

We are not always in control.

And that’s okay—because God is.

And honestly?

I’m learning to be thankful for that.

Maybe the canceled plans weren’t the lesson.

Maybe the lesson was what God was trying to teach me through the canceled plans.

Maybe He was reminding me to stop carrying what was never mine to carry in the first place.

Maybe He was asking me to loosen my grip.

To breathe.

To be still.

To trust.

To remember that my plans don’t have to work out perfectly for my life to still be in His hands.

So here’s to changed plans.

Here’s to unexpected interruptions.

Here’s to learning—again—that I’m not in control.

And here’s to the God who is.

He is still God.
He is still good.
He is still with me.

And that is enough.