Making Plan B Beautiful

It was Wednesday and my day to keep the grand girls. Miss Emerson had one thing on her mind. “Keggie, are we going to make Jell-O today? “Sure,” I said. Jell-O is our thing right now. We make it before lunch and the deal is that we get to share a small cup if the girls rest well. Mind you, two-year old Carlisle still takes a full-out volunteer please-can-I-go-to-bed-now-nap. It’s the beatenest thing I’ve ever seen, a child asking to take a nap.

Rest for Emerson is much more challenging. The four-year old may be over the couch, around the couch and beside the couch before she’s done, but as long as she confines herself to the couch’s immediate vicinity during her rest period, I count it as a nap and we get to celebrate afterwards with Jell-O!

“Red,” Emerson was saying, “Let’s make red Jell-O!”  Emerson and I scanned the pantry. No red Jell-O. “But, I love red Jell-O!” Emerson was near tears. (I can’t imagine where she gets her tendency to overdramatize a situation, can you?) The search resumed but it looked like we were out of Jell-O period until I finally spied one single box on the back of a shelf. “Hey,” I said, “here’s some green.” Emerson paused only briefly before exclaiming, “Green Jell-O! That’s my favorite!”

It’s not always easy to handle life’s disappointments even if we are given opportunities to practice early and often. It’s been my experience that plans seldom work out exactly like we hope. You’re right. I’m not talking red Jell-O any longer. I’m talking about our real lives. I’m talking about broken dreams and holy goals and what to do when your heart gets crushed. There’s a marked difference between switching gears because God wants us to move on and giving up because it’s getting too hard to push on. The thing is I can’t tell you where your line is no more than you can point out mine. Only God knows when it’s time to surrender Plan A. For the record, He is more than willing to help you through the maze. On the other hand, what I can tell you is that I’ve seen God make many a Plan B beautiful.

If you do find yourself facing a Plan B, I encourage you to ask God to lead the way and help you to greet the new development with courage and enthusiasm.  As Emerson might say, “I never knew green Jell-O could taste so good!”

Hugs, Shellie