The Best Laid Plans........

Lately, I have been looking for "bloggable" events and lessons throughout my day.  This blog has sat dormant for far too long.  I started this blog as an outlet and a voice.  I wanted to provide something for others ~ to encourage, to teach, to minister, or even to commiserate.  I wanted to be out there.  But I find myself not coming to the blog, or when I do, not blogging.  However, I am challenging myself to change that. To do more, to put it out there, because I know that through practice I can and will improve my writing and hopefully maybe my audience.  

So I started looking for events and lessons which might be interesting to blog. And early in the day one was presented itself.

Pumpkin's birthday was last week.  Today we were taking her and another homeschooling friend bowling and out to lunch.  However, the day also included a couple of other errands that all had to be done in town.  Dad and I decided that we would split up, since we now own two vehicles, each going our own way accomplishing tasks and then we would converge upon the bowling alley and enjoy the time together. 

 My errands included taking Little Man for his check up appointment and talking to the Doctor about a concern we have with Buddy.  I had to leave first. Which I did, much to Pumpkin and Bug's dismay.  You see they weren't paying attention to the details we had worked out.  Bug was struggling with finding his shoes and his sister was fussing at him to hurry up and getting more impatient with him by the second.  Apparently they were deeply involved with finding said shoes when I loaded up Buddy and Little Man and backed out of the driveway, the first time.  However, I realized that a piece of much needed information for Dad was in his Bible in my van.  So I circled the block and had Buddy take the information to his dad.  

It was at this point that both  Bug and Pumpkin realized I was leaving and they were, in fact, not.  Pumpkin was greatly distressed at this fact and not trusting that her parents had worked something out, thought that she had missed the planned trip and wasn't going to get to celebrate with her friend.  She had one plan in mind and what was happening didn't match that plan, so she decided the only other option was that her plan was ruined and she wasn't going to get what she wanted.

She took that out on her brother, berating him and in general being hateful towards him because she believed him to be the reason her plan wasn't being carried out.  

How often do we do this to God?  How often to we have a plan to accomplish what we want to accomplish and not trust that God has His own plan, which is often different than ours?  How often do we blame others and are hateful to them instead of turning to our Heavenly Father and asking Him if there is another plan or another way?  How often do we, as Pumpkin did later, have to go back and apologize to others once we learn the error of our ways?