The Perfect Plan

I like organization. I like schedules. I like plans. Planners and calendars make me happy, as do normal, predictable days.

Unfortunately, my life does not want to fit into a nice, neat planner package right now. Every day is different, and each week seems to welcome some sort of twist. I need a daily plan and a schedule, especially since I'm about to take on a temporary editing job. I just haven't quite figured out how to make it happen.

When I don't have something figured out, I tend to procrastinate. I feel like I cannot tackle a task until it is organized, and if I can't figure out how to organize it then how can I start? That problem multiplies when it is not just a single task, but the whole of my schedule. It makes me want to just throw my hands up in the air and do nothing!

How many of us fall into that trap spiritually? God puts a lesson, a task, or a challenge before us, but we just do not feel that we have it all figured out yet. So, instead of stepping forward in obedience, we hold back. We wait for full understanding. We wait for the perfect plan. We wait for every detail to line up. And while we wait, we accomplish nothing.

I take that back. We do accomplish something. It's called disobedience. That's right. When we refuse to move forward until we have every duck in a row, we stand in disobedience. It's not our job to have the details ironed out! It is simply our job to obey.

Yesterday I did not have my plan figured out. I simply had a list. School had to be done with the kids part of the morning and early afternoon. I needed to finish the girls' annual testing. Meals and laundry are constants, and some writing tasks awaited me. I had promised to do a project for my little sister, and all of our ink cartridges needed to be refilled. I might not have had the ultimate plan figured out to keep every day nicely organized, but I knew what took top priority for that day. I won't deny that the temptation existed to just blow off the day, curl up with a novel, and wait for the organization fairy to zap me with a brilliant idea, but I knew better than to give in to that temptation. The same will be true of today. I will pray for a plan and seek wisdom to organize my days and my weeks to both maximize my time and make sure I do not overload myself or neglect my family. In the meantime, though, I will not neglect what stands right in front of me.

Can we say the same of our obedience to God?