Whose Plan is this Anyway?

"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

Five years ago I had the privilege to go on a missions trip to Guatemala. While there, my team built a water collection cistern in a small remote village. Although it was a difficult task - no modern digging equipment or cement mixers, just "muscle power" - it was an experience I'll never forget. I left for the journey wondering how God would use me to change the lives of the Guatemalan people, but I returned with the heart that God used the Guatemalan people to change me! I also learned a profound lesson on the trip.....God's plan is ALWAYS better than mine.

I was so proud of myself to have my bags packed and in the car when I still had more than an hour before I had to meet my group and head to the airport. My bags were packed full of long skirts, customary attire for working in a Guatemalan school. That's when I got the call that I would be building a cistern and not working at the school. Irritated and disappointed, I pulled my suitcase from the car and repacked it with jeans and work clothes. If that wasn't disappointing enough, when we arrived where we would be staying in Guatemala, I found out I would be sharing a dorm with a bunch of teen girls. Here I was, away from my young girls, and I was going to be stuck with teenagers for 10 days. One day into the trip and I was thanking God for His plan and that He ditched mine. The physical labor of building the cistern was exactly how God wanted to work in my life. I tear up every time I think of that cistern and all the people that benefit from the water that's collected in it because of our labor on the slope of a volcano in a small village in Guatemala. And the teen girls I shared a room with? They were true entertainment, exciting and took me back to my youth. If God had let me have it my way, I would have missed out on so much!

Upon returning from that missions trip, all I could think about was, "Where next God?" For many years there has been a piece of me that wants to rid myself of all the "things" in my life and move to a foreign land as a missionary. Due to my husband's neck injury and God's lack of a long term calling on my life, it looks like, at least for now, that I'll have to settle for short term trips. So, I was beyond excited in late 2007 when God opened up the door for me to go to Kenya in early 2008. Kenya has held a piece of my heart for a long time. Not long after preparations for the trip began, violence broke out in Kenya after a questionable election and the trip was cancelled. I was devastated! However, I remembered from previous experiences that God's plan is always better and sure enough, several months later, God began some serious pruning in my life that lead to Him flooding my life with too many blessings to count. Had I gone on that trip, I know with all my heart, I would have been miserable and missed out on what God had in store for me.

All of this has lead me to present day and I'm scheduled to go to Kenya in August. Initially, my church was going to send one team to Kenya, but after great interest was shown in the trip, a second team was formed. Both my brother, Bill (well, he's not really my brother, but he's like a brother to me), and I applied to go. We were both accepted for the two week trip, but on separate teams. To top it off, my team was scheduled to go the second half of August, which would have me in Africa when my girls start school. After some emails back and forth with the Director of World Missions at church, I was moved to the first team with Bill. The funny thing was, I should have been thrilled, instead I had this feeling in my gut that something wasn't quite right. It didn't make sense to me, I was going to Kenya, with Bill and I'd be back in time for the first day of school. Why didn't it feel "right?"

January brought our first team meeting. All the missions teams were there: Kenya, Zimbabwe, Peru, India and Haiti. After a group meeting, we broke up into our teams. There I sat, next to Bill and my new team members, but my eyes kept drifting to the other side of the room to look at the second team, my original team. I committed the next two weeks to prayer....not my will, Lord, but yours. That's when the phone rang. The second trip had been moved up and although I wouldn't be able to travel with Bill, I would be home in time for the start of school for my girls. February brought our second team meeting and the first time I would meet with my new team, which was my original team....are you still with me? It took about 2 minutes to realize I was "home," with the team God wanted me to be on and the team He had put me on before I tried to interfere with my plan.

I imagine I won't know why God wanted me on that team until I'm in Africa, or maybe I won't ever know at all. But, one thing is for sure, just as Proverbs says, God's plan is always better than mine!