HA! NOT. AT. ALL.
When I began this hair-brained challenge, I was VERY unsure
of how it would pan out. I wasn’t sure I could actually do it, or even that I
wanted to. I was just desperate for a change and everyone knows exercise is
good for you. I had no idea I was jumping so far into the deep end or that my
legs were soon going to turn into painful Jell-o.
Nothing about the last 30 runs happened like I thought it
would, most importantly how it ended. From about day 5 I wanted to quit. I kept
pushing because I didn’t want to have gotten through several hard runs only to
start over or just end up calling it a fail. As the days passed, I became more
determined. All I wanted was to finish. I knew there would be nothing pretty
about it, so just finishing became my focus. I knew that what I was doing was
good for me, even though it hurt. I also knew that I needed an exercise
routine, and this was giving me just that. I was doing a good thing. But, sometimes
when people make really good plans God interrupts them. My interruption came on
day twenty-four.
While reflecting on what the last few weeks has taught me,
God used a parallel with this challenge that I hope to never forget. Sometimes
God interrupts our good plans for His great ones. Even when we know what is
good for us – He knows what is best for us.
My granddaddy grew up a farmer, he knew farming and it would
have been a good plan for him to work his family farm, but God interrupted.
He was a pilot in WWII, where he excelled and could have
gone on to serve anywhere in the world, but God interrupted.
He and my grandmother moved back to the family farm to be
close to family and return to a farming way of life, but God interrupted. (I
have a strong feeling my Granny might have been putting in constant requests
for this interruption)
He was an architect, contractor, and business owner. He had
big plans for retirement and for putting his genius to work on making his home
“the family farm” without an actual farm. God interrupted again, this time with
blindness.
Later came an interruption of a much greater magnitude –
Alzheimer’s.
I don’t yet see the great in this part of the plan. But I
believe that some things are not just about the greatness of God as He
transforms families and communities and nations. Sometimes it is about His
greatness in transforming simple, ordinary lives. Maybe He cares just as much
about drawing his children to himself that aren’t going to be missionaries or
evangelists. This I know:
A life interrupted by all of the bends and curves in the
road that God provided for my Granddaddy left an amazing legacy. My cousins
(and my mom and uncles) and I all know the proper technique for shucking corn
and picking beans. We can also disappear into his workshop and reappear with a
perfectly built birdhouse. But mostly, we have a unique ability to love each
other. We have learned through the last few years how important family is and
how to rely on each other and how to comfort each other. We have come to trust God's timing knowing that this season was a part of the plan for our family. As I have numbly
walked through the past week and a half, I have seen strength within our family
that can withstand a storm, and for that we are fortunate.
So, even though this challenge definitely didn’t end the way
I thought it would, the interruption gave me a glimpse into the character of
God, reminded me that He knit our family together, and has washed me afresh in
His mercy. I want to be open to God interrupting my good, well thought out
plans when He knows there is a best path to walk. When all is said and done, I
too, want to leave a family bathed in peace, trusting in God’s perfect timing.
I read this recently and I feel it sums so many of my
feelings up –
And he breathed his last, and died at a good old age, an old
man and FULL OF YEARS, and he was gathered to his people.
Gen 25:7-8
