The Good Plan

"A day spent helping no one but yourself is a day wasted."—Abraham Lincoln

A funny thing happened on the way to the daily longing—sometimes spoken, too often merely thought—of “show me Your way, Lord…order my steps today.” God threw a curve ball, and I…

…Where would I be without a daytimer, that old-fashioned paper thing that is a roadmap for my day, and week ahead, smudged with constant erasing of a Number 2 pencil and coffee cup marks? One word: Lost. My smartphone is great at pinging reminders, but sometimes, nothing beats having the big picture right in front of you.

This is my day.

These are my plans.

I will be going here then, so I can’t go there, sorry.

No accidental conflicts.

Looks messy in places, and some days are overloaded.

But it’s all under control.

Until you remember Who has the ball.

Because you can’t always schedule that most noble of Christ-one virtues:

Serving.

Someone else, not yourself.

It is the heart of Jesus, who came to serve and not be served.

“Follow Me…”

But most of the time, you can’t pencil it in.

And more often than not, “Follow Me” shows up on one of those days that’s already on overload.

Or, on those cherished days known as “I’ve already got plans.”

“Here’s the wind up, and the pitch…curve ball. Caught looking!”

“Hey, what was that?”

“Son, you weren’t focusing on the big picture, and why I put you here in the first place. You are not your own—you were bought with a price. Remember, that it is not what you do and all your to-dos (I’ve got your back on all of that), but who are to be. Even today, when your daytimer doesn’t look like you could squeeze in one more thing. Serving can be inconvenient, messy, and disruptive. But it is good. Always good. In fact, being one who serves is the most important thing you can be: “… and the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.”

….Back in January, a daytimer of a different sort penciled in all the books I aimed to devour in the coming months. For the most part, it’s gone according to schedule. But I am grateful for a few much-needed curveballs along the way that have helped get that focus back on the big picture “and why I put you here in the first place.” One of those has been frequently revisited but continues to speak loudly and practically: “Naturally Supernatural—God May Be Closer Than You Think,” by Gary Best. Not coincidentally, this passage just so happened to show up right about the same time as the daytimer wake-up call…

“Keep your focus on serving others with all the grace that God supplies, fully expecting Him to breathe on your seemingly natural abilities and empower them to produce supernatural results…and, actively reach for every possible Gift that is needed to build up —whether or not it feels familiar to you.”

And, no matter what your calendar looks like...so help me, God.

“Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.”— Galatians 5:15, The Message