As a teenager I used to meticulously write down goals and deadlines for myself. My first year in college I planned all four years of my courses in the first week. In medical school I kept a constant countdown to milestones like exams and breaks. If something happened differently from my plan I would breakdown. It was devastating.
Here's the part where I would like to say I've changed...but that need for control in knowing what comes next is still very much alive.
My life has turned out nothing like I could have ever even imagined. My plans were very typical-have a family, be a doctor, live my happy live behind a white picket fence.
Today, I am sitting on a unspoiled beach on a tiny island in Malaysia, that doesn't even show up on a map. Our arrival was full of hugs and gifts from friends and sweet "welcome home!" messages. Micah and the big boys are off scuba diving and Owen is playing at the bar with his best friend-a twenty something year old Indonesian guy. We drove to the port yesterday, passing monkeys and motorbikes on the way after leaving our rented, modern, (leaking!) house and spending the day teaching epidemiology to medical students.
Never. If you would have made this life a multiple choice answer, I would have missed the question every time. Never did I think I would end up here. Never did I think my boys would have the travel experiences and "norms" that a part of our day. Never did I think I would meet the people that have taught me so much about the world. Never.
It's amazing. It's better than anything I could have imagined.
And so, while the planner in me is still there, what has changed is my reaction. I've learned to roll with the punches and look forward to life's surprises. When things don't go according to plan, I have learned to take a deep breath and steer another way.
It's not always great. It's sometimes lonely and hard. But it's always worth it. Letting go has allowed me so very much.
The boys love to talk about their futures. Barrett in particular is a lot like me in making plans and goals. My advice for them has evolved through this journey. I tell them not to figure it all out now. Don't get set on anything. See it all. Do it all. Find your passion. Because that's where you'll find God's plan.
What it's easy to forget is that it's never really our plan to make. We can try to control it, but it's not ours to control. It's ours to live and make the most of. Happiness, for me, is in listening to God. He speaks to me through my emotions, through my opportunities, through the people I love. When I stop fighting and dwelling and relax into following God's path, life is good.
So what's next for me? Well, today I plan to go paddle boarding and finish a good book while the boys play football on the beach and jump off the jeti. I'm happy with that plan for now. What comes next will be.
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Proverbs 19:21
