When planning goes awry

My husband and I are different sort of planners, especially when it comes to trips. He is into the details about what to do. I am into where we will stay, what we will eat, and finding those sort of spiritual places that make a trip transcend just being a tourist junket. It makes for a nice combination of talents and our trips usually turn out quite well. But, in spite of our best laid plans, unexpected things happen.

Sometimes, we are blessed with wonderful surprises. We stayed at a hotel in Hilo, HI which just happened to be next to one of the largest Japanese gardens outside of Japan. While hubby worked, I spent the days photographing the different sections of the garden. Bridges, stone lanterns, intricate plantings and pools of koi were unexpected treats next to our rather shabby hotel.

But there are times when we find ourselves in less than stellar circumstances. Early in our marriage when things were a bit rocky, we went to Rockport, MA (yes, I see the irony) to get away and work on our relationship. At a lovely waterfront restaurant, my clams tasted metallic and I didn't want to eat them. Hubby thought I was just picky so I downed them. Several hours later, I was in our expensive bed and breakfast throwing up in a trash can while I sat on the toilet. Twelve hours after that, I was able to take back my earlier statement of "I want to die." Why, you ask? My husband had been the most solicitous soul in caring for me, reminding me of why I married him in the first place. It also didn't hurt that my invalid self was stuck in a beautiful space including gazillion thread count Egyptian cotten sheets and a window with a view.

Thirty years later, we are thankful for those early lessons in things not working out as planned. Preparing for our upcoming vacation, I am dealing with unwelcome health issues which have changed our plans ahead of time and may change our plans when we are on our journey. Hubby has thought about changes before I bring them up, quelling my fears about ruining the trip for him. In turn, I am willing to go beneath the ocean in a submarine. If you have claustrophobia and fear of drowning like I do, you will understand my love for this man. If those plans change, we will still make the best of it. It is no wonder I believe in what Jeremiah says.

"For surely, I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." Jeremiah 29:11

What plans have you had that have gone awry? How can you look at those circumstances differently?

Quest by Quotation

Adventure is just bad planning. Roald Amundsen

Do you believe adventure is just bad planning? What does this quote say to you about planning ahead and spontaneity?

What are your plans for today?

"What are your plans for today?", my dentist asked. Why do they always ask questions when their fingers are in your mouth? He had to ask the question again because I didn't answer. "What are your plans for today?" I looked at him with this stunned look in my eye and said, "I have no plans." "Lucky you," he replied.

I left the dentist with the realization that it was 9:00 AM and I had already had the highlight of my day. The dentist! I called my husband and asked if our rescheduled trip to Hawaii was on or not. If it hadn't been, well, I would have been in the temp services office of NC State or Manpower within the half hour. No plans! The dentist thought I was lucky. My friends still think I am fortunate to be between jobs, working on a wonderful volunteer program like The Flower Shuttle, seeing friends, traveling with my husband, and writing. But I wasn't feeling blessed, only blindsided.

Now I know that God has plans for me: "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." (Jeremiah 29:11) I continue to count on that blessing each day. I still remind myself of my earlier "Ah, ha!" moment post-postponed surgery when I tried the great experiment of just seeing what would rise forth on days that were free of any and all plans. But that morning in my dentist's office, I was hit with the realization that maybe sometimes I avoid making plans because I expect adventure to just drop in my lap. Some days it does. Some days it doesn't. And on those days, plans come in handy.

In reality, I do have longer term plans as I work on a charity event for The Flower Shuttle which will be held in October. Then we try again to go to Hawaii. Do I need to have firm plans for each day, each hour? Obviously, my dentist assumed so and, for just a moment, so did I. But I think mainly what I needed the reminder of a sense of adventure when approaching each day, regardless of what I may already seeing myself doing in it.