Have you ever been to a wedding where the little ring bearer or flower girl stole the show? What about that vacation where nothing seemed to go as planned? There have been many moments in my life when, no matter how much I planned and prepared, the day just never seemed to go as planned.
I started this post sitting in the van with the family, waiting for the rain to pass so we can go to the beach. Today was supposed to be a fun afternoon at the beach on Tybee Island. I had planned some photography around the island, especially the lighthouse area. The nice thing, when we did get a short break in the rain, the beach wasn’t crowded and the waves were a little bit bigger and more fun to play in. Many times the best memories come from the times when things don’t go as planned. The stories my family talks about and my kids remember from past trips are mostly the things that did not go as planned… and there are many.
I think too often in life we get so caught up in trying to make things go the way we think they should. A bride spends years planning the perfect wedding, even before she has met the groom. Families spend months planning that perfect vacation. Planning is important. We need a goal or a map to follow. But we also need to be willing to break from the plan and seek out the joy in life’s journey. I know people that have not seemed to grasp that concept. They plan every part of their life and live in constant frustration because life rarely turns out exactly as planned. I have been there many times, frustrated and upset by the way the day “fell apart”. But life is much more fun when, even with the best plans, I look for opportunities in every moment. Without rain, there would be no rainbows. Without the busy flower girl, the wedding would be beautiful, but boring. Without the unexpected curves that life throws at us, there would not be as many fun stories for our family to share.
Most of the time my frustration comes from me trying to build my kingdom. Me wanting things to be perfect. Me wanting to get my way. My own selfish desires turn out to be the source of much anxiety and frustration, rather than the joy and feeling of self accomplishment that I had planned. Looking back on my life, most of my unhappy moments have come from life not going like I thought it should. The happiest moments in my life have come from life not going like I thought it should, but I learned to enjoy the journey and not be so focused on building my kingdom. It is easy to get caught in that trap of watching what others are doing and trying to look better than others. But that almost always leads to frustration and anxiety.
What’s going on in your life that isn’t going as planned? Are you focused on fixing it or seeing where God may be leading you? There are times when God wants us to fix it. To learn and grow as we overcome challenges. But there are times God calls us to leave the past behind, get off the path that we created to build our own kingdom and take a different path that God has created to build his kingdom. Set aside the next Six and a half days to spend some focused time in prayer and reading the Bible and some quiet time to listen to God. Seek first the kingdom of God and watch the anxiety and frustration fade away.
