I like this picture for a couple of reasons. First, it reminds me of all the time my husband spent planning and building this little pathway at our old house. He has a lot of talents and I don’t always let him know how much I appreciate them. Sometimes I need these visual reminders to hit me between the eyes.
The second reason I like this picture is because it reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses, “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)
Just like that perfectly designed pathway, I thought I had this past week pretty well planned. Then my steps were directed “differently.” There were some unexpected changes at the wonderful home school co-op which my oldest daughters attend. That led to some changes in other parts of my perfectly planned out schedule. Add to the mix three new piano students, family illnesses (those are never planned!) and shopping, packing and making arrangements for our trip to Oregon.
None of my unplanned events is devastating in the least. I just spent over an hour sorting through the opinions of other bloggers on the Sarah Palin VP issue. Prior to that a friend and I discussed another blogging debate that involves women in the workforce. Then I read an email update about my cousin’s daughter’s lung transplant issues (she’s a courageous cystic fibrosis survivor.)
Indeed, there are bigger issues out there. All of these things – my little inconveniences as well as the greater things – do have one thing in common. They are not surprises for a sovereign God who wonderfully directs steps.