Day by Day and Play by Play

I am a planner. I know, shocker, right? I love a color coordinated calendar. Pens with matching highlighters? Where can I get them?! A zipper bag that also matches and snaps into the calendar rings? Take my money already! I really like to be organized. I really like to organize things too. (Almost every room of my house twice over thanks to Corona-staycation.) I like to make a plan, to go step by step until a goal is reached, always knowing what comes next.

But that is not really realistic, is it? Even the best made paths can have dips and curves and detours. You cannot plan for every possible circumstance in your day to day life. Right now, it is really hard to plan ahead to next month. It is hard to even plan this week. And even by tomorrow my plan might need to change! Change is hard for a “planner”. It doesn’t come easy or naturally to me. But I have had to get used to it over the last year.

A lot has changed since this time last year. I got a big health diagnosis last spring. And then another one. And then another one! My health was really fragile and I was facing a surgery in the fall that would leave a scar and have a long recovery time. My apartment life was miserable (I had a great roommate, but the neighbors/neighborhood was a nightmare.) I was learning the new parameters my health was forcing me to set up, and I was fighting it, trying to hold on to ‘my plan’ of what I thought my life was supposed to look like.

Last summer, having a major surgery was the last thing on my mind. Last summer, buying a house was the last thing on my mind. Last summer, a global pandemic that would shut down the city and the world was the last thing on my mind.

But it was on God’s mind.

He was beginning to answer prayers that weren’t even a thought yet. He was already putting into motion the pieces that needed to change in order to line up in the perfect timing. I reconnected with a friend who is a realtor. I was guided to a different doctor who had a second, and very different opinion, about my surgery. God was already moving to find me a peaceful home to ride out this pandemic in. A home without loud neighbors. A home without stairs. A home with outdoor space to enjoy fresh air. A home with lots of windows. A home with extra rooms for a guest room AND for an office. He already knew I would be working from home shortly after moving in. A home next door to a Christian on one side, and a cop on the other who has beautiful kids; I can hear their laughter over the fence and it brings me such joy. He also has a dog. A big dog. We met a few weeks ago when he broke through the fence and scared me to death. We’re great friends now.

Nothing that is currently in my life is the way I planned it. I would never have planned to buy a house on my own; no I was waiting to get married and have kids to do that. I would never have planned that my health would be fragile and I would spend my time carefully planning around the sun and the heat and a strict medication schedule; no I was waiting for old age to need to do that. There are so many things that are in my life today that I would never have chosen in a million years. But I am thankful that God has a plan for me. He knows every single step, twist and turn. He has planned it that way for a reason. Whenever I get impatient, and I want to know ‘the plan’, to know what is coming next, He gently reminds me that HE is the plan. I just have to follow where He leads. So I am taking it “Day by Day and Play by Play”. He is in control, and I will follow wherever He leads me. He has always been a Faithful Father, so I know I can trust Him every day with every play.

 

Many Blessings,

Pastor Sarah