Building Plans

"Mom!"

"MOM!"

"MOM! Help me!"

As I heard my name bellowed with rising intensity from the living room, I came in to see what was going on. There was Justin, surrounded by all the dining room chairs, holding two blankets up over his head, waiting for a clip to secure the perfect fort. The two blankets for the perfect fort that I told him I would help him build after we took Connor to school. Not in the middle of the getting ready frenzy, but after. But there he was, in the middle of his creation, waiting for me to drop everything and come to his aid. Grabbing the chip clips out of the closet, I thought about all the times I went ahead with my own plans after being clearly told to wait.

How often do we make our plans without really wondering if the time is right?

Sometimes we just feel like life owes us, and we are going to get ours just because we deserve it. I have to be honest and say, there is very little that we actually deserve, and way more that we get that we are privileged to have, but that is a tough pill to swallow. It requires us to come face to face with our own smallness, and it begs the question why we have what we have in the first place. Not asking the question puts the control in our hands, instead of the Hand of a sovereign God. "There but for the grace of God go I."

I think if we could learn to live in the light of God's grace, we would be more grateful for what we have, and more willing to wait for what we want. It's the attitude of entitlement that throws us off, which is a fancy word for selfish. If we could remember that God has what's best for us, at the time that it is right for us to have, it would make the waiting more palatable. "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10.)

"Be still". Stop trying to make things happen on your own. Stop arranging the dining room chairs in the perfect circle and struggling to hold the blankets up yourself. "Be still." I haven't forgotten about you.

"Know that I am God." And you are not. Until you cause a flower to bloom, or a sun to rise, you should probably remember that I am God. When the time is right, I will bless your house of cards, and with My blessing, it will stand.

The fort that Justin built collapsed under its own weight while we were dropping Connor off at school. I helped him build another one, one that is still standing in the living room waiting for him to get home this afternoon. He was able to watch a movie and eat lunch under it, all without it falling on his head. Our plans go better when we wait until the timing is right, instead of rushing headlong into our own dreams and yelling for help when they aren't working out.

I have to share with you, my friends, that as I sit and type these words, they practically spilled of their own will into the computer.The thoughts are a little hard core. I am wondering what efforts I am asking God to bless that He has asked me to what on Him for. Where have I started running ahead? He knows the plans He has for me, and you. Will you join me in seeking Him before setting out on your own? (Jeremiah 29:11-13)