What do you do when things don’t go the way you planned?
Who are you in the midst of the unexpected? Who are you when life doesn’t go the way you planned?
When I was 15, I planned on getting married by 25 and having kids by 27. I got married at 30 and don’t have any kids (as of yet).
When I graduated from university, I planned on coming home and working for a year before I went travelling and returned to school for child and family therapy. I worked for 2.5 years, took a sabbatical, returned to the same company for another 2.5 years, became a Certified Professional Coach and informally became a child and family therapist (minus the formal training and the degree).
Like most brides, I planned on having a sunny day or atleast a day so that we could have our photos done outside. Mother nature laughed and gave us a day of wind and snow.
Recently, when the redesign of my website took place I planned on it going smoothly and for the big reveal to take place in October. Then October hit and my server went down twice for multiple days at a time, changes that were made one day disappeared the next, previously published posts were marked private and upon unchecking the “private” box, were sent to all of my subscribers…again! (Sorry to all who received 19 emails from me in one day last week). Not exactly how I planned.
What do you do when things don’t go the way you planned?
Who are you in the midst of the unexpected? Who are you when life doesn’t go the way you planned?
There’s a Yiddish Proverb that says: “Man plans, God laughs.”
Looking at the past month of my life and my life in general, I’m pretty sure God has had many laughs at my expense. My amazing plans never failed to be interrupted and turned upside down by some unexpected circumstances.
Friends, life often doesn’t go the way we planned. Hence why some event planners have adopted the mantra “plan for the unexpected.”
Yes, the unexpected.
It’s the straight A student who plans on getting an A but gets an F.
It’s the woman who thought she would be married by 30 and finds herself single at 50 (fear not, I know of someone who met her soulmate post 50 and she’s happily married now). She might even be reading this.
It’s the girl who finds out her debt has been paid off by a stranger.
It’s the healthy couple who long for a baby but for whatever reason, they’ve come up empty every month.
It’s the person who has been with a company for years only to come to work one day to find out that the company has gone bankrupt and is closed effective immediately.
It’s the couple who never thought their marriage would end in divorce.
It’s the person who receives a call from a child he didn’t know he had.
It’s the person who heads out on a perfectly sunny day only to find himself caught in a storm.
It’s the person who embarked on her day just as she does everyday only to have her day/life turned upside down by a car accident.
It’s the family who gets a call to say that a loved one has suddenly passed away.
It’s the gentleman who grew up poor only to find out that he is the benefactor of a very large inheritance from an unknown relative.
It’s the woman who was given three weeks to live with stage 4 metastatic cancer, who finds herself alive and kicking 34 years later.
What do you do when things don’t go the way you planned?
Who are you in the midst of the unexpected? Who are you when life doesn’t go the way you planned?
Ladies & Gents, it is easy to be an amazing person when life is going exactly the way you planned, no hitches, no glitches, just sunshine, and rainbows.
But what happens when you plan for sun and get days and days of rain? Who are you then? Who are you when life throws you a curve ball you’ve never seen?
Who we are, who we TRULY are occurs in the midst of inconvenience, set-backs, and unexpected moments. Who we are is tried, tested, and developed in the trials of life. It’s the Refiners Fire. No one is exempt.
When the storms of life seem to be chasing you down and you feel like you’re in hot water, may you remember this:
Just like tea, our full flavour comes out when we are steeped in hot water.
Criticize or compliment. Be cruel or be compassionate. The choice is always yours. The question is, are we the first to criticize or the first to compliment? Are we the first to be cruel or the first to offer compassion? One makes the world better. The other makes us bitter. And that choice…is always ours. It’s your choice and it’s mine.
What do you do when things don’t go the way you planned?
Who are you in the midst of the unexpected? Who are you when life doesn’t go the way you planned?
“A man’s character will always reveal his heart…for better or for worse.”-Ann Mainse
- Ladies (and Gents) Who ________: What’s Your Legacy? - May 15, 2018
- A Letter For Every Mother - April 17, 2018
- Dear Beautiful Soul… - March 28, 2018
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