We all have noticed that this has been an unusual spring here in the Twin Cities area. It seems like days with nice weather can be counted on one hand. First, we had a very late spring. Winter seemed like it would never loosen its grip. Recently, it’s either been cold, rainy, cloudy or hot and humid. On top of that, the weather forecasters often get the forecast wrong. Just this past weekend, Sven Sundgaard on KARE 11 said we would have a dry weekend and it ended up raining most of Saturday! Even my golf game has suffered. Many times when I had planned to play or practice, the weather hasn’t cooperated. I feel like I’m still rusty! I know many of you are shedding a tear for me now.
Our weather frustrations got me thinking about life. Just was we get frustrated with our weather and the inability for the local forecasters to always get the forecast right, we often get frustrated with life and our inability to forecast how events will unfold. There are several recent examples of this that come to mind. One was Harold Camping’s (a Bible prophecy Sven Sundgaard) forecast that the world would end on May 21st. Well, we are all still here. Another example is my mom and my trip to California to see my friend Andy who was suffering from stomach cancer. When we planned the trip and booked the flight in early May, although his condition was serious, there was still hope that Andy would make a recovery from his illness. Our expectation was that we could spend some quality time with Andy and his family and help them with some work around their house, meals, etc. The week before we were to leave, I found out Andy had taken a serious turn for the worse. They were going to release him to home hospice care that Friday. We arrived at his house on Monday and Andy was basically unresponsive. He went to be with the Lord that night. What happened? This certainly wasn’t according to my mom, me, and Andy’s family’s plans!
I think our frustrations from such occurrences come because we like to control things. But I believe God likes to remind us frequently that He is in control and He knows better than we do. The Bible says in Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’” (NIV).
Yes things didn’t go according to my plans for Andy and our trip to California but God used this time for His purposes. God gave me the opportunity to speak at Andy’s memorial service to over 500 people and testify to the impact Andy made on my life and the lives of many others. I was able to speak at Andy’s former church on Sunday and encourage them to unify and take on the challenges that they now face with the passing of their pastor. I was able to spend time with Andy’s family and share in the grieving process. Although a very difficult time, God’s timing was better than mine. If Andy had lived a few more weeks, it would have been difficult for me to turn around and fly back to California. Then I would’ve missed out on those opportunities to be used by God and to grieve with people I care about deeply.
So the next time life frustrates you because things don’t go according to your plans, remember what God says in Isaiah. His plans and ways are not ours. Although the unfolding of events may not fit our agenda, we need to trust God that He knows better than us. We need to trust that His plans will serve a deeper and higher purpose than ours, even if we struggle to understand them in the present. Now the big question - what are God’s plans for my golf game this year?