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I'm your typical type A personality. I crave structure, routine, plans, rules, and to be prepared for everything. It's really difficult for me to adjust when plans change suddenly. God has been teaching me how to be more flexible and forgiving when it comes to interrupted plans. It has not been an easy lesson, but it has been a worthwhile lesson that I am still learning.
At the beginning of 2020, I was getting very excited about the semester to come as I finished my master's degree in math education. I'd be taking my last classes, completing my comprehensive exams, turning in my capstone project, and walking the stage! I had everything marked on my calendar, my schedule lined up perfectly, and the motivation to finish strong! Then COVID-19 happened. After spring break in March, I was scheduled to take my exams. We got an email saying our exams would be moved to accommodate the changing updates from the state. I was thrown so off kilter that I didn't know what to do! I had been planning and gearing myself up for this for months! I was ready to get this over with! IT'S IN THE CALENDAR!!!!
I could sense my anxiety rising so I went for a walk to pray and chill. When I was crying out to Jesus saying, "what will we do? I was so ready to do this!" I felt him say, "Do you think I am thrown off guard by this change? Do you think I didn't already have a plan for this?" And at that moment I realized that while my plans might have been thrown off, his never were. He saw this all along. He orchestrated a solution far before I ever knew I needed one. He knew. He always knew...I didn't.
Realizing this put my emotions in check and my thoughts into perspective. I somehow used to think that me and Jesus were reacting to the things that happened around us and together we were solving problems as they arose. I now know how small-minded that must seem. Jesus doesn't need to react to sudden changes in plans...he created the plans! We need to come into alignment with HIS plans and check our emotions as WE REACT to what he is doing in our lives.
Now I had an extra month to prepare for my comprehensive exams. Now I had more time to gather my materials I needed to use. Now I got an extra day to work on my exams for the sudden change of plans (Thank you, Tarleton, for that...I needed it). Now I got to prepare with prayer as my new deadline approached. God's plan was better. I was just unprepared for it.
Being unprepared for a change in plans doesn't mean the new plans are bad. Being unprepared for new plans just means God has something better for you that you never saw coming. If you're like me, I want to encourage you to yield yourself to God's plans. To hand over the control and be open to what he wants in your life. Be organized, have structure, adhere to a routine, BUT always be open and flexible to redirection when God prompts it.
The funny thing is, I still did all the things I had planned to do as I finished my degree. It just looked a little different than I ever imagined. I finished my classes in the comfort of my home, used the extra day to complete and pass my exams, turned in my capstone project via video with the help of my videographer hubby, and will walk the stage in August with a purple cap! Everything I wanted to do I was able to do from home. I am so thankful for God's plans in my life. They are far better than anything I could have hoped for.
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