Writing

When “The Plan” Does Not Go According to Plan

Blog Title on wooden fence background by Denise M. Colby When the plan does not go according to plan

I think this title says it all! When “The Plan” does not go according to plan. Have you ever felt this way? I have. I’m a planner at heart, so I run into this, A Lot! So here’s my story right now.

I have had many “plans” over the past year for my website, my blog, and my writing and most of it has NOT gone according to plan.

  • I had plans to update my website
  • I had plans to have more blog posts each month
  • I had plans to have my newsletter completed and emailed out to a list of willing readers

Don’t get me wrong. I still have those plans. And that’s the thing. For me, right now, it’s not necessarily the plans I wrote down, but the timing of those plans that changed. And honestly, I’m okay with that. Now. But I wasn’t at the time. I’ve been frustrated with myself for not being able to get them done when I wanted to get them done.

Recently, I have realized that those were “my plans” and in hindsight, I can now see the way things have unfolded may not have been my plan, but very much “God’s Plan” for me.

Recently, I have realized that those were “My Plans”.

Denise M. colby

Several reasons, that I only can see now, include all the other “things” that needed to fall into place before I got to the things on my list. (And also the fact that I had too much on my plate, and my health and my family needed to come first.) For a long time I couldn’t see that. But now…

That’s what hindsight is all about

Something we can learn from.

So, what’s the lesson?

Something I’m still learning (and will continue to do so because it is one of the hardest things for me to do) is to let go and trust God when things don’t go the way I want them to.

Let go and let God be in charge, quote by Denise M. Colby with old wooden fence background

Ironically, this is actually one of the themes in my book I’m working on. We all make plans. And we think we are on the right track with those plans. But we sometimes run into road blocks or challenges that prevent us from making progress or change the outcome of some of those plans.

That’s what my heroine, Olivia, runs into over and over.

She has a lot of stuff happen to her. So much so, she has to let go of her past and reinvent herself and plan out a new future. And she’s doing it all without any help from God. At least, that’s what she believes.

But just like in our own lives, God is behind the scenes orchestrating something so much bigger and beautiful for Olivia. Something she would never be able to do on her own.

Sometimes we have to learn to get out of the way and trust God. We may not know what the future holds but by trusting in Him we can have faith to take things one day at a time and know we are where He wants us to be at that moment.

God's way of going about it is so much better than our own, quote by Denise M. Colby, text over wooden fence background

Sure it’s good to have goals and plans of the things we want to work toward. I think that part is important. But I also think that sometimes God’s way of going about it is so much better than our own.

And we don’t know that until our plans have to change

So here I am, many many many months later finally posting a blog post. And I have plans. Big plans. To write more. To post more. And to share with you more. Words of encouragement to help inspire and give you hope. Words of enrichment to learn new things. And words that we can engage in so that we can support, uplift and show love to one another.

If you are interested in signing up for my nonexistent newsletter to receive in the near future (hopefully) go here to sign up. You will receive a free poem I wrote, titled When God Calls, Go.

And for the novel I’m still editing? It has had several different titles over the past few years all related to plans changing, so I’ll leave you with a few verses from the Bible on the topic:

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” – Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29: 11 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Hebrews 10:36 36

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 text on background

I am part of a writers blog called A Slice Of Orange. I have been writing blog posts monthly now for over a year. My particular blog posts on the 12th of every month. You can find links to those posts here, or for all my archived posts click here. In my August post, I wrote about real life turning points and how big ones have impacted me this year. The topic dives into the “why” my plans didn’t quite happen the way I planned and a first-hand view as to what plans are emerging now. It’s titled Tracking Real Life Turning Points