Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly, you will never have enough.
Proverbs 21: 5 (GNT)
Scripture: Psalm 32: 6-11
Sometimes, it feels like God doesn’t want us to plan. I mean, He can change our plans in a blink of an eye. What happens when He does change our plans? This devotion will look at following God’s will even through vast changes.
I love to cook. Baking is included in that, but lately I haven’t been doing as much baking as I used to. I try to make sure I make some Christmas cookies for my son Adam to scarf.
I knew which ones I wanted to make this year (and in what order in case I ran out of time). We both love Mom’s recipe for Snickerdoodles. I found a Taste of Home recipe for Molasses cookies that the boy really loves. Those were the two “have to make” this time around.
There was also a list of “if I get around to them.” Adam loves Unbaked Cookies (also one of Mom’s recipes), but I had made those more recently than the others. Cowboy Cookies (a.k.a. Chocolate Chip Cookies), which I had found on the Internet, are also a favorite, but let’s face it, plain compared to the others. I also wanted Vermont Maple Pecan Cookies, a recipe I got from a friend. I really wanted to make that one because, even if I didn’t put the pecans in, I was guaranteed to get to eat those. They had a lot of ingredients that were not on Adam’s to-eat list.
So, I knew I was baking cookies. I just hadn’t planned to start as early as I did. But I had a church function that was looking for cookies, so to the kitchen I went.
I got out the Snickerdoodle recipe. No cream of tarter. (At least I started gathering ingredients before I started mixing!)
Same thing with buttermilk. That took Molasses Cookies out.
I didn’t have much flour so that took out Unbaked and Cowboy Cookies. Since the Vermont Maple Cookies (even without the pecans I didn’t have) were an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type of cookie, I didn’t even look.
I settled for Pumpkin Cookies. Nope. Not on the list, but sometimes you have to improvise. I had gotten the recipe off the Internet a couple of years ago. I hadn’t made them for a while, but I remembered them being really moist.
It went really well — until I had to open the can of pumpkin. I could not get the electric can opener to work. In fact, I knocked off the cutting part with the magnet to hold the lid trying to make sure the can was in the right position.
I was gathering up the can opener to throw it in the trash. I was at the end of my rope. The day before had been a weepy day (man, I hate those!). I was on a deadline for the last paper in the last class I was going to take in my doctoral program. I was fighting learning how to put together the Seeking God with Elaine website. I was really biting on myself, telling myself I was all kinds of stupid.
And the stupid can opener won’t work. No, not major, but the can opener was fixing to be gone!
Hi, God. You want to talk to me before the can opener hits the trash? Okay, I will try to listen. A bit frustrated here, but I want to listen to what You have to say to me.
God does want us to plan. Yes, He is coming to take us home. Yes, it will probably mess up a lot of our plans. Yes, He does change things up and give us different plans at a drop of a hat. Yes, He wants us to change direction after four years of working on a different path.
God still wants us to plan. His way, but plan we must. He has a plan based on the decisions we have made/will make in our lives. He knows what those decisions are. He knows what is best for us. We are exactly where He wants us to be.
I was prepared. The recipe may have been different. But I had the ingredients I needed. I could measure and stir. I could bake the cookies until they were done. It may not have been Snickerdoodles, but they were delicious.
My life may be taking a different track. But I have been prepared and can learn the rest.
My smart boy took care of the can opener. He got it out back together and said, “Look, Mom. It isn’t plugged in.” No wonder it wouldn’t work!
Yes, God. There is nothing wrong with me. I need to slow down. I need to pay attention to detail. I need to be where You want me to be.
The cookies turned out really good. My life will, too. And my loving boy keeps telling me, “Mom, never change. I love you the way you are.”
Loving Heavenly Father. You have made us as we are. We don’t use that as an excuse not to change. We lift that as a praise because we are made in Your image. We do know that are changes we need to make in our lives. We know You want us to make plans to accomplish those changes and the work that You have for us to do. We know we can accomplish all You have in store for us because, above all, it isn’t your plan to prepare us for heaven. To do that, we have to be more like You. Fortunately, you see us as You meant us to be. You see us as we were made to be. Help us to be as You see us. Amen.
What do you think? Have you been preparing for one path and suddenly found yourself on another? How did God help you through that?
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