By Rev. JAMES SCARBOROUGH

Donalsonville Assembly of God

I am grateful that our Christmas plans went smoothly and everything turned out just as we had hoped. We spent Christmas Day without going more than 10 miles from the house, as we made our rounds to see the excited little ones showing off their new treasures. Then, the day after Christmas, just as we had planned, we were able to take a two hour drive on our journey for a few days away to relax. That, too, went as planned but it was not without some anxious moments.

As Gale and I rode down Highway 231, keeping pace with the flow of traffic, nothing was amiss when suddenly a truck passed us at a rather high rate of speed. There is nothing unusual about another vehicle passing mine, except this time the passing vehicle was going around us on the right side of the road in the grass and by the time we knew he was anywhere around he had gone around us and was back on the highway weaving in and out of the traffic ahead. I do not know if he was responding to an emergency or not, but his maneuvering tactics were certainly the type that could quickly create an emergency.

As we continued our trip, everything seemed to be back to normal as we tried to process what had just happened. But there was more! In a few moments the car in front of me decided to make a sudden turn to the right. As I responded to his glaring red tail lights before me, a quick glance into my rearview mirror noted a vehicle behind me that now had to respond to my sudden need to drastically slow down. By the time my eyes were back on what was happening in front of me, the person making the sudden right turn apparently did not like how rough the driveway was that he was turning in to and decided to stop on the highway before completing his turn. It was like being cornered in a game of checkers with nowhere to move and no opening to jump the opponent, except this was not a game and I did not have unlimited time to sit there and think about what to do next!

Even our best calculated plans are imperfect and are often at the mercy of details that we have no anticipation of and no control over. I trust that in these early days of a brand new year we all have some plans and sense of direction for 2013. Nevertheless, we are surely aware that our plans can be drastically altered by what is unknown to us. Such awareness gives us another reminder of the importance of relying upon the one who sees all and knows all, and has everything under control. Proverbs 19:21 states, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (New International Version). It is always to our advantage to relinquish our plans when needed in order for God’s higher plan to prevail.

As for our near-mishap on our trip to the beach, everything turned out fine and no collision occurred. Gale and I made it safely to our destination and enjoyed a wonderful time together, for which we are most thankful.