Last week I went to the Lone Star Veterans Association’s Discussion of Faith and Service. The speakers were this inspiring couple who found each other through the many trials and tribulations of the Vietnam war.
In particular, the lady’s first husband was MIA (missing in action) for a year. I heard that term before, but it wasn’t until now that I realized what it actually meant to the families. You want to believe that your loved one survived, but you couldn’t do it without further anguish as the prisoners back then would be tortured. Yet the clock was ticking so the more time passed the harder it became to remain hopeful, which caused further guilt … What a nightmare!
Then we broke into groups to discuss the the talk. One of the gentlemen at my table made a subtle point …. that I found really profound. In Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” It doesn’t say a singular plan as I always assumed it did … it says plans, as in multiple plans.
Why did it strike me? I think it helped me to connect the dots looking backwards. I mean, I spent a decade in the Army, a decade in corporate America and the upcoming decade will be that of me as an entrepreneur; I would have never seen the next step coming until it actually came!
So for me, the plural version of plan is a stark contrast to how we as humans crave a proven and preferably simple solution for happiness.
When that solution falters or stalls, it’s tough. I mean, who likes to admit that they were wrong?
It’s just so easy to miss the forrest for the trees
What does this mean practically? To me this passage tells me to let go of my attachment to what I thought my future should look like and focus more on where my faith is taking me next.
In the Army I was taught, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. So true in life as well! Difference being that now, unlike in my Army times, I rely on my faith to guide me to the next plan.
In fact two gentlemen at my table talked about how their first business failed and the other one how it initially struggled. Definitely not what I’m looking forward to! Yet if it so happens, I’ll have these personal testimonies to fall back on … of how the earthly difficulties handled with faith, will always have you come out stronger on the other side.
What is the plan for your life? What would happen if you viewed your life a series of God’s plans?
Searching for something better? Don’t know what you want? What’s missing?
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