God's Mysterious Plans

The other night I couldn’t sleep anymore than I could have balanced myself on the head of a pin. My mind was racing most of the night, alternating between prayer and worry. I know what you’re thinking. The two don’t mix. Once you pray, close the lid, let go. Well, sometimes it’s easier to write or say that than it is to put into practice. The good thing is that while we’re fretting like that, God’s busy loving us and waiting for us to settle-down, trust Him and just enjoy the ride.

I had reason to fret. I had misplaced some paperwork. No surprise there. If you had been a student in my classroom or a member of my pastorate, you would have experienced during a sermon or a classroom lecture, me pausing and looking around for my reading glasses or chalk or whatever else I suddenly realized I had misplaced. More often than not, a student or parishioner would raise the item for which I had been searching because I had somehow managed to inadvertently lay it on their desk or practically in their lap. Stress tends to increase the likelihood that something in my possession will go missing. Once, during a particularly stressful time in my life, I sat in front of an Albertson’s next to a paid for, full grocery cart for over an hour, all because I not only couldn’t remember where the car was, I couldn’t remember what model or color it was, either. I kept thinking I was still driving a red Ford Pinto I hadn’t driven since my college days. (At the time I was driving a grey Honda Civic.) To be candid, I am always surprised when losing something. People who know me are not remotely surprised and bless their hearts they have allowed the love of God to reside there long enough to be patient with me.

The paperwork I had misplaced meant I wouldn’t get paid on time and I had bills due. Generally when that happens I’d have to request another form by phone and wait for it to be sent out by snail mail. However, because I now only live a mere forty minute drive from the office, I thought I’d head out there and request a form replacement in person. Despite this obvious solution to the pickle I found myself in, I didn’t relish the thought of making that trip and found myself waking over and over again to ask the Father to help me remember where it was that I had last seen the form. But, God had other plans.

The next morning, I got lost twice to trying to find the office and when I finally did, I stood in line for roughly an hour before a very kind woman informed me that it was their policy to respond to form replacement requests only by phone. My heart sank and all the way out to the car I kept asking God why He would have me drive all that way for nothing – as if it were His fault that I had lost the form. But still, He had other plans.

I sat in the car a moment or two, heaved a sigh of disappointment and put the keys in the ignition. At that precise moment there was a knock on the driver side window. I jumped and looked out the window at a woman, old enough to be my grandmother, leaning on a cane and looking just as apprehensive as I felt. I swung the door open and got out. Apparently she had a miserable morning and had driven the front end her car into a deep culvert and needed to use my cell phone to call for a tow truck. Of course it was an accident. Who would do such a thing like that on purpose?  She went on to tell me, that due to the high crime in that part of the city, she was afraid to ask anyone for help, but after praying, she felt safe asking me. So that was God’s plan. Before we had left our respective homes that morning, God had set in motion an emergency plan to answer her prayer for help and I was it.

The paperwork that had gone missing – it showed up two days later and I promptly mailed it off.

“Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.” (Ps. 25:4-5).

 

~ Pastor Al