The little mishaps of life are no stranger to me, but I came to realize a couple of weeks ago that I am not the only one in my family that has gotten into a few pickles.  My brother has had his share of blunders along the way too.

Of the five kids that make up the family that I grew up in, my brother and I are the only ones who left our hometown.  He joined the Air Force shortly after I moved to Florida to attend Bible college.  As a career military person, he and his family have moved far and wide, both stateside and overseas.  After more than twenty-five years of active service, he is now near retirement and has settled down in Arkansas.  Every year he and his family journey to the Destin area for vacation.  This year’s trip was a rather interesting one for him.

As they stopped along the way my brother followed a man into the restroom—at least so he thought.  When he saw his granddaughter standing by the bathroom sink he realized that it was not a man he was following and he was not in the men’s room.  Needless to say he lost no time making his exit.  As the journey continued and they got closer to their destination, he came upon one of those little towns where the speed limit rapidly drops—only he didn’t rapidly slow down.  He did, however, stop right away when he saw blue lights approaching his bumper. 

After all the drama along the way they finally arrived, but Skippy’s troubles were not quite finished.  He got sick, and even though he tried to shake it off without medical help, he ended up having to go to the emergency room for treatment.  As we visited with them for the day we decided to wrap up the visit with a nice meal at a seafood restaurant while he, unfortunately, stayed at the room, still recovering.

I have not spoken to him since they got back home, so I don’t know how eventful the return journey was.  Hopefully better than the trip south.

Sometimes our plans fall short of our highest expectations.  It is good to know that no matter what our plans are and how disappointing they sometimes turn out to be, God is always in control and He has plans for us that we might not be aware of at the moment.  Proverbs 16:9 reminds us that “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (New International Version).

Every day I try to have a plan in mind as to how I want to use the day.  I rarely write down my plans, but in my mind I have goals that I would like to achieve.  Sometimes my plans flow smoothly, but more often than not adjustments have to be made.  Even though it is sometimes frustrating having to let go of my personal plans, it is good to know that it is always safe to humbly allow God’s plans prevail over mine.  Proverbs 19 gives us this wisdom: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (verse 21).

Even as we strive to willingly follow God’s plans for our lives we sometimes face opposition, yet it always pays to stay the course and allow His purpose to prevail.  We must always remember that God is never taken by surprise and He never has to regroup or try to figure out how to handle our circumstances.  Our most important plan everyday should be a commitment to follow Him wholeheartedly no matter what the cost.