Interruptions

'We're not plannin' it, we're just doin' it', has become my new motto.  Well, not really, but seriously, it has become rather convicting for me as of late.   I like to have plans made ahead of time, goals spelled out, and schedules in order.  But I've realized that in my planning I leave little room for faith.  When all is under my control then it becomes all about me and what I want. 

I've been putting some things on hold in my life until my writing project is done.  It still isn't finished, but in the meantime a window of opportunity is slipping by.  I know God wants me to reach out to those He has placed in my life right now, even if it means I must move forward with unfinished work, unknowns, and sketchy plans. 

Normally I become rather irritable when my plans are interrupted, but lately my eyes have been opened to see the interruption as God's specific direction.  Rather than resisting change, I'm seeking to be more flexible and sensitive to where God might be leading me.  I've recently had an opportunity slammed shut in my face and in hindsight, see that God used it to humble me.  Yet at the same time I'm so very excited because God's 'no' confirmed a definite 'yes' in another direction.  

I don't know what God is up to, but I do know that He has given me a renewed passion to go for His plan as opposed to mine, even if I feel unprepared for the task.  As I teach a group of high school girls it is not my hard labored notes, rewrites from an editor's wisdom, or the specific study guide I had just spent years writing that we will be using.  No, it is something new, a study on Esther rather than Ruth.  With the Bible as our text and the unwavering assurance that this is God's plan I move forward in faith resting in His sovereign control.  I will still be writing on my "old" project, but have no idea what God has in store for this interruption to my plans. 

Ann Voscamp says it so well on her blog, A Holy Experience, "When you're waiting for an answer and it seems like life is silent, God is actually calling."  Sometimes in all my trying and all my plans I lose sight of God's working right in front of me.   I'm thrilled to be included in what God is doing, not plannin' it, just doin' it!  Plain and simple.  I guess it boils down to obedience. 

All of my ambitions, hopes, and plans, I surrender these into His hands...