Change of Plans

Trust me when I tell you, he's as chill as a sloth in a hammock. Since law school, I've been drawn to the cool smooth sound of Scott Miller. Scott is a singer/songwriter from Virginia but more accurately, he is a magician with words and lyrics. If you've never heard his music, do so. Sometimes referred to as "country-alternative" or "folksy music," I don't think that quite fits, but I can't more accurately describe it. Whatever it is, its great.

Being a big fan, I was ecstatic when Amber told me she bought tickets to see Scott at the Bijou Theater on January 26th. I immediately planned it all out in my head. We would have a relaxing Saturday, then dinner and drinks downtown, then the concert. Then....life happened. Two kids basketball games, dance class for our middle daughter, and a unexpected doctor's visit for our younger daughter. Our oldest finished the day with three three pointers, our youngest with a fever of 102.1.

With children's Tylenol and the assurance that the fever was simply an ear infection, Amber and I reluctantly left our three kids with a babysitter and headed downtown far later than we originally planned. Not only were our plans delayed, there were people everywhere. A sold out Bijou, a sold out Tennessee Theater, and basketball fans pouring out of Thompson-Boling Arena, had spilled people all over downtown Knoxville.

My mood was admittedly..."angered melancholy." Walking down the frigid sidewalks, we could see the warm smiling faces of people eating, drinking, and being merry through the glass store fronts. They collectively represented the lucky ones who made it downtown far earlier than we did. Door after door we yanked opened to find the same packed scene, so we stood in the doorways only long enough at each eatery to feel the warmth, hear the laughter, and turn back out into the cold January night.

With few other options and empty stomachs, we turned to head back toward the theater in hopes that one of the hotel lobby restaurants was open and uncrowded. Oh the luck! After all of our searching, we had an overpriced hamburger and a warm beer at the Hilton. Defeated, I confessed to Amber, "I think I'd rather just go home." I was tired, frustrated by the way the day had unfolded, and angry that my plans fell apart. I was committed to giving up and going home.

We agreed that wasting the money on tickets to a show we wouldn't see was foolish, so we headed toward the venue. Block by block, we waited for the traffic lights to change so we could cross the street. In front of the Episcopal church, the entire sidewalk was closed, so we navigated around parked cars and watched carefully for oncoming traffic, as we temporarily shared a lane.

Rounding the last block and nearing the theater, I saw two men standing by the back stage door. "I think that's him, Amber." The closer we got, the more assured I was that we were approaching the man we came to see, Scott Miller. As we started to pass by, Scott leaned down to put out a cigarette and stood up again. "If you are out here, I guess we aren't that late" I jokingly told him. "I don't sing it until I feel it" was his dead pan response.

The mood and the feeling of the evening had changed. Inside the theater, we inched our way to our seats. Stepping around seated knees, purses, and jackets, we found our corner spot in the top of the balcony. Scott Miller started to sing, and my wife, the mother of my kids, and the love of my life, pulled me toward her and laid her head on my shoulder. In that moment, nothing else mattered. I was glad for changed plans. The crazy day, the cold sidewalks, the plan B, C, then D were all worth it because it had led me to this moment and it was better than I could have imagined.

As we sat together listening, a realization rushed into my mind, every single event of the day, every crowded restaurant with no room for us, every traffic light missed, every navigated parked car, had led me to the exact moment that I could share a passing word with a musician I really respected. I hadn't planned that moment. I couldn't have. The way the evening unfolded in hindsight was bigger and better than anything I could have ever constructed myself.

On a much more fabulous scale, our lives are this way too, my friends. As you are most certainly aware, a busy day, no dinner reservations, and a cold walk downtown, hail in comparison to the hell we will no doubt endure in this life. Rest assured however, you can plan and hope all you want, but there is One who has plans for your life. Plans that are perfect, if only you'll trust.

So the next time you experience a change of plans in life, you can be angry or you can be assured. You can be frustrated or you can have faith. When things don't go as you've planned, don't ever doubt God's goodness. Don't ever doubt or wonder if God loves you. He loves you more than you can imagine. He has customized plans for you and for your life. He has plans to prosper you, never to harm you. His plans won't always be consistent with your plans, but there's nothing wrong with a change of plans.

Much Love, Adam

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

 Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 16:1-4
To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue. 

All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The LORD works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 

Proverbs 16:9
The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Psalm 37:23
The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I once was lost, but now I’m found

Image
Two old men were lost driving together through Kentucky. When they finally saw a sign on the side of the interstate for the approaching town, the old man driving said, “We're almost to “Lewis-ville.” The old man sitting beside him in the passenger seat said, “It’s “Louie-ville.”" They argued back and forth about the pronunciation for a few minutes before the driver suggested, “let’s take the next exit, go into town and ask a local, then we will listen to them carefully as they tell us the name of the town, and we will have our answer.” The old man in the passenger seat agreed that would be a fair resolution to their dispute. So the driver pulled off the interstate, and into the parking lot of a local store, and the two old men went inside. The driver pleaded with the worker inside, “Sir, help my friend and me, please. Tell us very slowly and very clearly, where are we right this minute?" The worker leans forward over the counter a...
Read more

My Favorite Floaties

Image
"I'm drowning, Amber. I can't do it. I can't keep my head above water." My voice cracked and I tried not to cry on the phone. How humiliating would that be? A grown man breaking down like a child talking to his fiancé. I was nearing the end of my first semester of law school. I was living alone in a small one bedroom apartment, and my closest family member lived four hours, and one state away. I didn't attend the most prestigious law school in the country, not even by a long shot, which made my struggles with the curriculum all the more frustrating. To give myself some credit, it wasn't really the curriculum, as much as the volume of the curriculum. The reading assignments never let up. Never. In undergrad, I could "buckle down," read ahead a little, and be just fine. In law school I felt like "Johnny 5" from the 1986 movie, "Short Circuit," and I still couldn't keep up. See the video below if you've not seen that c...
Read more

The Love of a Teacher

Image
I still remember the nervous excitement as I walked into the kindergarten wing of Woodland Elementary School for the first time. We were the "mustangs" then, apparently they are the "hawks" now. Sadly, I must have missed the vote for the mascot change. At any rate, getting back to kindergarten, my socks were pulled up to my knees, and my empty backpack was strapped loosely around my shoulders. I had a fresh haircut from Ross the Boss and I sported a buck toothed smile. The same goofy smile my 9 year old son now flashes at me from time to time (Sorry about the big teeth, J.B.)  When I learned during the summer before kindergarten that my teacher's name was Ms. Thompson, I remember lying in my water bed (Don't you judge me, you had one too) and wondering what kind of teacher Ms. Thompson would be. Would she be strict? Would she be fun? Would she be kind? Would she like me? It turns out, she was a wonderful lady, who had the keen ability to m...
Read more