Life Is All About How You Handle Plan B

I found a sign the other day that said, “Life Is All About How You Handle Plan B”.  It really got me thinking and I had to bring it home.  It is now hanging over my bedroom door so that I see it when I am in the main living area.  I have been reflecting a lot about that…  Plan B is all about life not meeting our preconceived ideas about where we will go, what we will do, who we will become.  Let’s face it – we all have an idea of who we will marry, how many kids we will have, what kind of house we will live in, the car we will drive, how much money we will make…..Now that I am older (hopefully wiser too), I can look back and kind of laugh at myself and how naive this thinking is.  While I am all about having goals, life has taught me that things rarely go as planned.  We are constantly dealing with Plan B.  When I was getting married, I had my first dose of Plan B – my husband is barely taller than I am and when we married, I out-weighed him.  Really?!  What happened to 6’2″, blonde haired and blue-eyed, and 220 pounds (so I would feel tiny).  David is 5’9″, green eyed (the kind you get lost in), dark haired, and when we got married VERY thin.  Not at all what I had dreamed of.  The reverse was true too – he always dated petite, beautiful girls – I am anything but….

So the big surprise all these years later – he is perfect for me!  Exactly what I needed in every way!

I thought I would have 5-6 children.  After nearly losing my 2nd and 3rd (born prematurely) I realized that that was not to be.  Three beautiful boys – and again, perfect for me!

I somehow thought I could protect my boys from harm, from hardship, from heartache, from failure – but alas, God has other plans.  They will only grow and learn to become who they are destined to become after going through experiences that allow them to smooth their own rough edges.  I cannot “gift” them that even though I desire to do so.  Our lives and experiences are designed for each of us – perfectly,

I believed I would have perfect children, with perfect wives and perfect (grand)children.  What is most true, is that they have wives and children that are perfect for them.  One of my boys is dealing with a total change of plans – Plan B all the way!  Painful, yes – down the road, hopefully we will see the “perfect” in his change of direction.

Handling Plan B means accepting with grace the unplanned events in our lives.  It is seeking the good in each experience and being “happy” about it.  Sometimes getting to “happy” is a bit of a process…  Experience helps us to see the wisdom in Plan B.  My life would have been VERY different had everything gone according to my own life-plan.  As it is, my journey has been perfect for me.  Plan B-God’s plan, is the best plan for each of us.  Sometimes we see His wisdom immediately, sometimes years from the event, and hopefully if we are not blessed to see His wisdom here, in the next life.  In the meantime, perhaps we can accept Plan B with more grace and learn to trust His wisdom for us.  For me, I just hope to handle Plan B with a smile on my face and understanding in my heart……knowing that all these things give me experience for my own kind of “perfect”.

Hanging over my bedroom door – couldn’t get it into Picassa for editing for some stupid reason!  Oh well, Plan B, right?!