Trusting God's plan

I think there are many times in our lives when things unfold in a way that seems... unfair. Disastrous. Like, you wish you could be in control of the world and plan things differently. Or maybe, you just don't understand why your life is the way it is, and you wish it could be different. I have - that's generally why I write each of my blog posts. I am writing about something I am personally dealing with, and feel the need to write until I understand why it's happening. I find writing helps me find clarity.

Anyways, I was reading this beautiful book the other month, and this one passage keeps sticking with me. I want to share it with you:

"Every evening around six, Terry would set dinner on the table, and the family would sit down to eat. And every night, almost without fail, the kids would start to whine. Unless it was chicken nuggets and French fries, there were going to be problems at dinner. One evening, Cassy, who was quite good at lobbying the family for what she wanted, lay down on the kitchen floor and rolled over in frustration about having to eat whatever it was Terri had prepared. John stood at the corner of the island in the kitchen and watched her, trying not to laugh. She twisted and turned and moaned and complained, but John stood silently, not letting her manipulate him. Finally, Cassy belted out the now famous line: "Dad, how could you do this to me?" John and I covered over mouths and looked away in hysterics.

But here is what is so interesting about that scene. Cassy actually believed what she was saying had merit. The pain and frustration she felt about dinner that night was the same pain and frustration you and I probably feel about not getting the job we want, the car we want, or whatever. Looking back, it struck me how often I have wondered, sometimes out loud to God, "How could you do this to me?"

It's funny for me to think about how often this is true of me. How very often, I am unwilling to trust God's plan, and instead blurt out, "How could you do this to me?" We don't always like God's answers, but I do believe He knows best. I guess I just need some convincing sometimes.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5,6