Plan B

Do you think your parents would let me stay at their house tonight?  I texted my friend after church last Sunday.  A quick glance at the weather forecast for Monday indicated that it would be better to get out that evening.  I began packing my bags, checking my recruiting supply inventory, and loading up the car.  I still had to play keyboard for the 5:00 service, but I could get to Columbus in a few hours.

The next morning, I woke up in a guest bedroom in Columbus to a world of white and a car encased in ice.  Indeed, I had made the right decision!  A few hours later, the roads were clear and I made it down to Cedarville University uneventfully.

Little did I know that my quick exit on Sunday night was just the first in a number of changes in plans  that week:

A pipe had burst in my hosts' home, so a series of texts connected me with a family I'd never met.  Their home turned out to be a lot more convenient to Cedarville's campus, and I was blessed by their generous hospitality to me, a stranger.

A double-booked class visit led to a combined presentation with a fellow missions recruiter, which rarely happens!  We were able to show our opportunities not as competitive (which is how it sometimes feels), but as complementary in advancing the Gospel through education.

Despite unseasonably warm temperatures mid-week, another treacherous forecast for the end of the week caused me to cancel my trip down to Louisville and return home a few days early.  I was nestled back home in Pittsburgh with a restocked refrigerator before the freezing rain and snow hit!

Before this trip even began, a friend had encouraged me to take advantage of the opportunities that arose out of the unexpected events of the week.  What a timely reminder to embrace the "Abenteuer" (adventure) of the unknown.  Looking through the lens of divine orchestration rather than added frustration can drastically alter our perspectives! 

What "curve balls" have you experienced recently?  Does it feel like you're on to Plan Z by now?  We can rest in the confidence that God is not surprised by our circumstances or uncertain about the outcome.  As His followers, we can step into the opportunities presented before us, knowing that our omniscient Eternal Father (Isaiah 46:9-10) is working in us (Philippians 1:6).

Plan A, Plan B, or Plan Z, it doesn't matter: "If God is for us, who can be against us? We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!"  (Romans 8:31, 37)