“God’s plans are better than your plans." ~ Isaiah
55:8
It was Sophie’s first day of high
school; the day she’d pined over all summer. Sleep Zombies had robbed her of a good night’s
sleep: she’d stayed up half the night trying to assemble the perfect outfit. This morning’s headache suggested this wasn’t
going to be one of her best days.
She arrived early for her first class. As others filed in, nobody sat next to her. The only vacant chair in the room sat empty
at Sophie’s side.
Feeling rejected she wondered: Do I look funny? Scary?
Weird? Maybe something’s hanging
from my nose or I drool and don’t realize it because I lack
self-awareness. Maybe it’s my
breath? What else could keep people
sitting next to me she pondered? The
anguish she felt consumed her the rest of the day.
Mom offered sound advice as usual. “Let others sit down first. Then make your choice to sit by someone you’d
like to get to know better. Find someone
who might be having a bad day, and BE the one to make a friend.”
She always made it sound so easy.
Sophie promised that things would be different this time. With a prayer in her heart and mounting confidence,
she pictured herself with an abundance of friends, and reminded herself that
choosing to be positive and self-assured would attract others to like her.
What happened next surprised them both.
Contrary to Mom’s advice, Sophie showed up earlier than
most; and out of habit decided to sit in her regular chair on the edge of the
room. As a few of the other students
filed in, the pattern threatened to repeat itself.
Just then, she noticed a scary spider crawling up the chair
in front of her. It was black, a little
hairy, and the size of a quarter.
Creeped out, she took her folder and tried to push it off.
Instead of removing it from her space, it fell onto Sophie’s
lap. Terrified, she jumped up, shook her
pants, and bolted to another spot – right next to a girl she’d like to know
better. Before long, a second girl took
the empty chair at her other side.
Admittedly she thought the answer to her prayer would show
up in the form of an idea, or an added measure of courage to do or say
something witty or inviting.
But this blessing showed up as a spider.
This is the essence of how God sometimes deals with us. When we ask for things to be better, He creates
conditions in our life that move us out of our comfort zone and prepare us to
receive the very thing we’re praying for.
Odd how that works! It’s a God
thing.
Dear God, I trust You with all my
heart. Wherever You want me to go, I
will go. Even if it’s not where I’d plan
to go. If I lose my hope, please remind
me that Your plans are better than my dreams.
Amen
