The Best Laid Plans

We had plans for this week.

We had plans to get on an airplane and fly to Germany. We had plans to have dinner with a dear friend after we arrived in Frankfurt. We had plans to fly out of Germany the next day and go to Barcelona, Spain to attend the wedding celebration of a young couple. We were also looking forward to seeing some other wonderful friends at that wedding. Then, our plan was to travel to Madrid to have dinner with a fantastic Spanish couple that we know, and let them be our personal tour guides through their beautiful city. We could hardly wait to reunite with them, to laugh and reminisce. After Madrid, we planned to fly to Santiago and begin a 6-day hike, walking to the ocean and along the coast to a place they call “Finisterre”, which means “the end of the earth”.  Finally, our plan was to fly to Basel, Switzerland, and then take the train to beautiful Strasbourg, France, where we were hoping to reconnect with many of our friends from our former church there.

If this sounds like a rather elaborate plan, you’re right. It took a lot of time and research to find all of our flights and lodging. It was going to be EPIC. Two weeks traveling in Europe. We had been planning the trip for quite awhile and we were so excited to go.

Only then, of course, this pesky pandemic arrived and cancelled all of our careful plans. Ruined. Kaputt. Cancelado. Effacé. Game over. As the Scottish poet, Robert Burns put it: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

Our plans do not always turn out the way we want them to. Blizzards, floods, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc., all bring destruction and derail our purposes. Injuries, illnesses, and infertility may interfere with our plans. Companies make cut-backs, appliances act up, finances dry up, debt piles up, kids throw up, cars break down, tires go flat, toilets overflow, rain clouds arrive uninvited to our picnic, and on and on goes the list of things that can go wrong and ruin our best-laid plans.

This week, I’m trying not to be sad. I know there are many people who never get the chance to travel, and we were blessed to live in France for five years and see so many amazing places during that time. Furthermore, it’s not like I'm delusional, somehow thinking we might still get to take our trip. This Covid-19 stay-at-home life has been going on for quite some time, so obviously I knew we wouldn’t be traveling. 

It’s just that this was supposed to be the week when we would go to take our vacation, to see our friends, and celebrate a wedding. To hike along the coast of Spain and eat amazing food. To visit the city that was our home for five years. That was what we had planned for the next two weeks of our life and instead, we will be staying here. Don’t get me wrong, I love Minnesota, my neighborhood and my home, even when we are forced to “stay-at-home” for weeks on end. I am enjoying springtime and my gardens. But…well…we had all these plans, you see.

Maybe you’ve heard the adage that states “Man plans, and God laughs.” This Yiddish proverb seems to say that God takes some sort of pleasure in seeing our plans flop and fail. I don’t really believe that God is sitting up in heaven laughing at me for making all these plans that didn’t work out; I think He understands and sympathizes with me, just like I sympathize with my children when they face disappointments.

There are a number of places in the Bible where it says that God laughs at man’s plans, but those passages refer to when people plan wicked things or try to work against God’s plans. In those cases, He scoffs because the very idea that people think they can thwart His plan is laughable. There are also sections of Scripture that warn us not to make plans to hoard wealth or brag about all the great success we're going to have, when in fact we don’t know what tomorrow may bring.

I don’t pretend to understand how this pandemic fits into God’s plans or purposes, but I do know that He is sovereign. In Proverbs 19:21 it says “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” This time that we are living through, with all of the changes and uncertainty and social distancing can be used by God to shape me and mold me and make me more like Him. It’s a time to learn how to appreciate the little things, to reflect a bit more deeply, and to be grateful for life itself.

I can take comfort in knowing that God’s plans and purposes for me are good, because He is good. Proverbs 16:9 says “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” My big plans may have come to nothing, but it’s really okay, because I’m confident that God is the one who is establishing my steps, wherever they may lead, and I know that He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Through the Seasons with 'Autumn Joy'

Two weeks ago, one day in early April, the temperatures climbed to 70 F. It seemed like a good idea to remove all the mulch from around my perennials. When I did that, I saw the beautiful spring green of new growth on various plants.

Five days later, Easter morning, I looked outside and saw that it had snowed! Hopefully all the new tender growth that I exposed wasn’t killed by the harshness of the cold and snow.

'Autumn Joy' sedum coming up in spring.

One of the plants that is showing growth is the 'Autumn Joy' sedum (stonecrop), one of my favorites. It’s kind of like an old friend, the one who shows up early for a party and stays late to help clean up the house after all the other guests have gone home.

In the spring, this plant is one of the first to peek through the soil. It remains through the entire summer, a tidy mound of greenery, playing its role in the garden very nicely. Eventually, late in the summer, its blooms will appear, looking like pale green broccoli clusters, nothing too showy or exciting.

But, like the friend who stays late to do the dishes after the party, this plant really pulls out all the stops late in the season. Those greenish, broccoli-esque blooms gradually turn pink, and late in the fall, this perennial lives up to its name, ‘Autumn Joy’. The pale clusters turn a vibrant red, bringing a burst of color to the autumn garden, when many other plants have stopped blooming. Even better, their reddish hue remains for a long time, sometimes until after the snow flies, creating color in the garden, even in winter.  

                  

                                          'Autumn Joy' sedum in bloom

Photo used by permission. tracypattersonphotography.com

We all need a friend like that, don’t we? The one who comes early, helping out at the gatherings we plan, and stays late to do the dishes. The one who laughs at our jokes. The one who “gets us” even when others don’t. The one who doesn’t expose us or correct us harshly when we’re still growing. The one who loves us even when we’re unlovable. The one who celebrates with us in good times and sits with us when we mourn. The one who brings a burst of color to our lives. The one who has been there for every season of life.

I consider myself really blessed to have several friends like that. They know who they are. I only hope that I can be that same kind of “Autumn Joy” for them, and for others as well.

Beneath the Surface

Near our home, there’s a trail that runs through several marshy areas. It’s interesting to see how these wetlands change through the seasons. About three weeks ago, while taking a walk, I paused to study the marsh.

There was still some ice on the pond. The monochromatic landscape looked bleak and lifeless. There was no discernible movement. It was silent. My senses told me that nothing was happening there, but my experience told me differently. Beneath the surface, under those dry reeds and thin ice, I knew there was a whole world waiting to burst into life.

My experience told me: “Just wait.”

One week later, the ice was gone. The mallards were back, paddling and dabbling their way around the pond.

Two weeks later, the red-winged blackbirds returned in force. The males were there, flashing their red wing patches from cattail perches and calling out warnings to defend their territories.

Then, earlier this week, I knew that spring was truly here, because when I walked through the marsh, I heard the loud and raucous mating calls of the wood frogs. (Click to hear and see them!) These amphibious friends aren’t much to look at but they are tough guys. They are the only frogs that exist north of the Arctic Circle. In the winter, ice crystals form in their bodies but they have a special “antifreeze” that keeps their cells from actually freezing. In the winter, they stop breathing. Their hearts stop beating. They seem to be dead. But if we just wait, they will emerge, one of the most reliable signs of spring in the marsh.

Watching the seasons in the marsh reminds me that sometimes in life, things are not as they seem on the surface. It reminds me of Easter and the resurrection. When Jesus entered Jerusalem for the Passover feast, things were looking great. He arrived in Jerusalem to crowds of people swarming around him, cheering, admiring, and proclaiming “Hosanna”! Then, things took a drastic turn for the worse. Jesus was arrested, questioned, and tortured. Finally, he was led away to be crucified. His followers were suddenly alone and confused. Their leader was gone, and their hope was gone as well. Jesus was dead, his body in a tomb, a giant stone securing the entrance, and an armed guard posted in front.

But just wait.

Things on the surface are not always as they seem.

When the women went to the tomb a few days later, they found the stone rolled away. They peered inside. All they saw were folded graveclothes. No body. No dead Jesus.

In the Gospel of Matthew, it says that an angel appeared to the women and said, “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen, just as he said!”

At the present time, the whole world is facing a crisis, a pandemic called Covid-19. We are hunkering down, staying in our houses. We are covering our faces with masks to protect ourselves and others. All over the world, people are sick and dying due to this virus. Things certainly look bleak. Perhaps it seems that the situation is hopeless.

But just wait.

When the people shouted “Hosanna” as Jesus entered Jerusalem, they were echoing something found in the Psalms, but they were using a phrase that originally meant “Help! Save us!” as a form of praise, proclaiming that Jesus was the Savior, the one who could rescue them, the one who would save them.

He is still the One.

Make no mistake, God is still on his throne.

He’s not wringing his hands in worry over this epidemic.

He’s still in charge.

Our Hope is not gone.

He is Risen.

Hosanna!