When the Plan Changes
By Julie Hawkins, Associate Pastor of Ministry
Summer changes the rhythm. For some of us the school year ends and the whole household reorganizes around weekly camps and planned time away. For others the calendar may not shift, but something in the air feels different anyway from longer days to a slower pace, the sense that the rest of the world has loosened up even if your schedule hasn’t.
In my season of life with a busy household and two teenage daughters, I have to work to plan our summer with times of rest and adventure, things for the girls to do, all while maintaining the usual commitments of work and life. That idea of work life balance definitely feels like there is an emphasis on the word balance. Without the reliability of the rhythm of the school year, one small change in the schedule can upset the whole equilibrium of life.
A few weeks ago, wildfires forced an evacuation of YoungLife[ camp, my daughter Marguerite came home early, her week cut short by smoke and fire. And just this week, my older daughter Aurelia was supposed to leave for camp. She didn’t get to go because of those same fires. At first, those cancellations knocked me off balance. And there were some tears about missing the fun of camp and disappointment about changed plans. But what happened in the community around both of these cancellations stopped me in my tracks. Churches opened their doors. Families opened their homes. Meals were provided, places were arranged, and a community of people decided that the students mattered more than the original plan. What came together was its own kind of gift, not what anyone had planned, but something real and good that wouldn’t have existed without the pivot. Something that showed God at work, even in those off balance moments.
As I watched this unfold through my kids’ camp experience, I began to look at other places where things had not gone according to my plan, both in my personal life and here at the church.
Here’s one example I have been reflecting on: For almost two years now, our leadership has been working and praying through our church planting process. We know what God has called us to and we are running toward planting a church in Tacoma. More than once, we thought we knew the clear and obvious next step. More than once, God made it clear we didn’t. And yes, those moments have made me feel a little off balance. But each time, it has required us to return again and again to prayer, to waiting, to trusting that he sees what we can’t yet see. It is not always comfortable. But I have come to believe, slowly, through each of these redirects that his timing is not a detour. It is the direction.
“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” — Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)
I love a good plan, and planning is an important thing to do. Having a plan is faithful stewardship of the God given resource of time. I don’t think God delights in disrupting our plans. But what I continue to learn is that those pivots and redirects loosen my grip and deepen my trust in the God who establishes my steps. The pivot is often where the formation happens.
If your life has included a few unexpected turns, you’re in good company. Pay attention to what shows up in the gap, in that redirection. And trust the One who sees the whole road, even when you’re only standing at the bend.
He has a way of making the detours worth it.
Before you go, I’d love to invite you to pray with me. Not out of worry or disappointment, but out of expectation.
Pray for the students who missed camp this summer. Pray that the community that rallied around them is just the beginning of what God is doing in their lives.
And pray with us for our church planting process. There are many things in motion right now. We are waiting on God’s timing, and we are genuinely excited about what he is preparing. Pray that we would hear clearly, move boldly, and trust that the best is still ahead.
He has surprised us before. He will again.
Julie