I had some detailed plans to be productive today.
It’s funny how one simple, unplanned decision can derail it all. An impulsive flick of the mind can suddenly send a well-stacked mountain of great intentions crashing to the ground.
‘Stop and Think’, might have been a good motto to have at that moment.
But still…
‘Break it and fix it’ seems to be my path of learning. And I sure learned a lot by the time I was done.
(updated 12.18.22)
Tripping down memory lane
Even as a kid I was notorious for breaking my toys (and unfortunately for them, my brothers’ stuff as well) because I was fascinated by how things worked and I just wanted to get in there and know how it was so.
I remember once taking apart a red ‘death-ray’ gun the day I got it on Christmas (or maybe it was my brother’s) because I absolutely had to know what made that blasted ray! As is the case most of the time, I didn’t realize how deep and far gone I was until it was too late.
Back then, the breadcrumbs of carnage would ultimately lead to the scene of my crime. Over time and after many *ahem* ‘incidents’ – I’ve gotten better at putting things back together the way I find them, often restored to working order, rather than in a pile of disrepair. Some close to me might disagree slightly, but whatever.
Fast forward to present day…
Reading that little blurb now in December of 2022, I’m not completely sure what the context of my situation was at the time I expressed my chagrin, though it could be safe to narrow it down to either being computer, car, or spouse related. I’ll let you take your pick.
From where I sit today, however, this conversation does bring to mind a couple of passages in scripture that are always relevant and timeless. Let’s start with the one in Proverbs that may or may not have been what I was thinking of on that woeful day…
Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand. - Proverbs 19:21 NASB
There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big, discovering purpose, setting goals, and having a daily planner to guide us through life. In fact, it’s considered wise to sit down and count the cost before embarking on a project. Like Nehemiah, we should plan and pray. Like Joseph, we should dream and persevere through the development process.
But it’s easy to become myopic when it comes to executing our mission and vision statements.
When in the thick of the journey, the struggles and challenges can distract from the ‘why ‘ of what we’re doing. More importantly – we lose sight of Who we’re serving. It’s times like these that we get a reminder sometimes to get us back on track.
The word ‘stand‘ in this verse can be translated as ‘persist, prevail, endure, and arise‘. The idea being that, regardless of what we dream up and set out to do – it is God’s plans that will be accomplished, established, and endure. Which brings us to Ephesians…
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. - Ephesians 5:17 NASB
In the verses preceding this, Paul exhorts us to live wisely, carefully, and opportunistically – underpinned by ascertaining and discerning God’s will in all things.
Aligning our dreams, goals, and purpose in life with God’s will is the only way to ensure a timeless legacy that will endure for eternity.
Going through life accomplishing and hitting our own goals might be fulfilling and exhilarating in the moment, but anything that excludes God will ultimately be futile and vain in the end. Just go ask Solomon.
Life Application
In preparation for an upcoming small group session, I’m reading through Randy Alcorn’s book ‘Heaven‘ for the second time. His site and ministry is called Eternal Perspective Ministries. I love that name and have come to embrace the mentality and thinking behind it. One of the primary planks of his ministry platform is this concept of ‘living in the dot, but living for the line” which he explains in this video clip…
To wrap up and connect back to the original muse for this updated post, I want to highlight another book I’ve also started reading: John Maxwell’s ‘Failing Forward‘. In this classic, John encourages us to learn from our mistakes – which we can count on to be inevitable and plentiful – on the road to success.
As noted earlier, sifting through the postmortem of failures tends to be my mode of learning. I just hope and pray that I’m still on the road to success!