Whose Plans???

Before I begin, let me wish a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!!!  (assuming that people will read this...maybe?  Lol!)  I've been really thinking about 2010 lately; I couldn't say that it was my most favorite year, but it was ok.  At church yesterday, I was with the Youth Ministry like usual, helping out and putting the middle schoolers in head-locks (j/k).  The middle school ministry leader asked a question:  "What is one bad thing from 2010, one good thing from 2010, and what would you like to do differently in 2011?"  He wanted everyone to answer--not just the kids.  I really got to thinking...

2010 was characterized by one truth, and that truth is my "bad thing from 2010":  NOT A SINGLE THING THAT I PLANNED WENT THE WAY THAT I EXPECTED OR HOPED!!!  Lol!  Seriously, though.  I entered into my final Spring semester of college and expected to graduate with no issues (after all, I hadn't had any issue before my senior year).  Instead, I ended up having to "run a marathon" just to walk across the stage!  I almost didn't graduate and the stress from my professors (and myself) was crucially heavy!  But I did graduate with a Bachelors in Architecture (truly by God's grace).

During that time, I was also planning my grand scheme for proposal that I had arranged to be in May.  Everything I was setting up was falling into place perfectly, and then it all fell apart in a nice "domino effect."  First, my girlfriend broke up with me (kind of a big element in the proposal scheme).  Then, the money that had been donated for the plan dried up in all the graduation madness.  Finally, the ring situation just evaporated.

Then came the summer.  I planned to work my "final" summer at Camp Sonshine and then begin full-time work in an architecture firm in August.  Instead, God closed the door on those applications and led me to stay at Camp Sonshine as part of the intern program (me in full-time ministry at THIS point in my life?!).

Fall came, and with it, quite an adventure.  My girlfriend and I got back together during the summer and I proceeded with my proposal planning.  With the help of some great friends, I managed to pull off a nice proposal, and she said "Yes."  So, with my fiancé, I moved forward in wedding planning.  As I've said in other posts, I enjoyed it!  ***spoiler warning***  But after 3 months of being engaged, my fiancé and I called the engagement, and the relationship, off (story shortened to prevent a never-ending post).

Haha!  I think you get the picture.  I had so many plans for 2010!  I remember God saying on New Year's last year that 2010 would be a "year of change."  Apparently, His "change" and my "change" differed, just a bit.  Lol!  It's cool, though, because my good thing for 2010 was that NOT A SINGLE THING THAT I PLANNED WENT THE WAY THAT I EXPECTED OR HOPED!!!  Lol!  Let me explain:

1)  I faced many issues and barriers to graduation, but they only caused me to go deeper into prayer and to CONSISTENTLY seek out the fellowship of believers for encouragement.
2)  I didn't get engaged at the end of May like I planned, but with everything else that was going on at the time, I wouldn't have been able to truly put all of my energy into planning for a memorable proposal.
3)  I didn't get a job in an architecture firm, but I'm able to work in full-time ministry with people I love and admire from camp!  Not only that, but I was in the perfect work-environment to endure the situation with the broken engagement!  I mean, not only could I find encouragement in my personal times and at church, but at work, too!
4)  The engagement ended, but it ended!  Can you imagine what marriage would have been like if I had a wife who still doubted if we should even be together in the first place?!!!  That would have been MISERABLE!

In the end, nothing happened how I planned it, but nothing happened that was bad for me (Romans 8:28).  The Scriptures are true:  "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).  Now all I want to do for 2011 is LET GO!!!  Sure I can plan some things, but if God closes a door, then I need to let it go--it's too much stress and headache trying to hold on to MY visions of how things should go.  After all, God is sovereign; I think He knows a little better than me.  ;-)