Skip to main content

31 Days: Plan




If I look closely, I can still see the imprint of my engagement and wedding rings on my left hand, even though I took them off 10 years ago today. X and I went out to dinner to mark our anniversary and after we got home, he suggested that maybe after four months of being separated that it was time to take our rings off.  The rings we had placed on each other's hands 14 years earlier in front of everyone we knew  as we vowed to be together forever. We had so many plans that day and here we were, making plans to start living separate lives.


As I was looking through my computer files at work today, I came across the graphic above that I downloaded from Facebook. It reminded me of this pin that I've had for years, years before I started making plans with X. 





I shook my head as I thought about how many years I've spent trying to achieve the goal of abandoning my plans for what's waiting for me. Have I missed something great because I stubbornly held on to my plans instead of embracing God's? Then I found this graphic.



I don't want to waste any more time wondering why my plans didn't work out. I don't want to spend another minute mourning the plans that did not come to fruition. Instead I want to spend my days watching God's plans unfold in front of me and living in awe of those plans.

On June 23, the 10th anniversary of X moving out, I bought this ring from Lisa Leonard. It is called a passage ring and its online description suggests it for a meaningful way to mark a significant moment and to remind us that life is full of moments that change us forever. 



I put it on that day to remind me of how I have grown since that day in 2007. I haven't worn it in about a month or so. Today I am putting it back on, over those marks left by the rings I removed 10 years ago today to remind me that even though this wasn't my plan and that I have been changed forever by that significant moment when X walked away, God still has a wonderful plan for me. I can't wait to see what it is.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Minute Friday: Roots

Lisa-Jo Baker (lisajobaker.com) hosts a weekly event on her blog called "Five Minute Friday". The rules are 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.. So here's my first try at this. Today's topic was Roots. Roots – I think about my grandparents who lived on a farm until my grandfather’s diabetes worsened and they moved to a town with a hospital nearby. My father still says he wished he could have kept that farm. I think of my grandmother who was a widow for 20 years. Every year she would stand over my PaPa’s grave, wishing she was with him. I think of my parents, a product of those grandparents, how hard my father worked to put 2 girls through
10 comments
Read more

Five Minute Friday: Time

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Time. Sometimes time feels like this, like we are in it. Standing inside it, watching life pass by. It is so easy to get stuck in a time - in our pain, in our hurt. We hear the ache tick away in our head like a giant clock. Time, instead, is a gift. More time with family, more time to accomplish goals, more time to see the world. When you are hurting, it seems like time takes forever. One day turns into another day, turns into another day. When we hate a job, the five days of time that make up a work week seem to go on forever. But those five days are also a gift. Because these days, a job is not a guarantee. I want to see time as gift, not as a chore. I want to be on the other side of it, wishing there was more of it. Making the most of every hour, minute, and second instead of
6 comments
Read more

Five Minute Friday: Mercy

Mercy, this is a tough one for me. I think that's why I waited until Saturday to do Five Minute Friday. I didn't want to face the topic of mercy. I am thankful everyday for God's tender mercies. The first definition of mercy that came up when I googled the word was compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.  This definitiion is my life in a nutshell. How many times has God extended this to me when I deserved to be turned into a pillar of salt like Lot's wife. How many times have I ignored his laws and his proddings and done exactly what I wanted to do. Every time he forgives me and prospers me. Every. time. I know there are people I should show mercy to. People who have broken my heart into more pieces than I can count. I think that I am showing mercy by keeping my disappointment in silence. In a day and age with social media, I could have told everyone that follows them how they have hurt me but I ha
7 comments
Read more