Plan B

I'm always on the lookout for a great book. But the best books somehow have a way of finding me.

That is what is happening with me right now with Plan B by Pete Wilson. I'm just a few chapters into it, but already I can tell it is just the right book at just the right time. The fact that one of my best friends surprised me by buying a copy for me to read only makes it even more providential.

Pete is a pastor of Crosspoint Church in Nashville. I've been following him on Twitter for a while. And recently I've been impressed and inspired by the work he and his church have been doing in the wake of the terrible Nashville floods. Being a Nashville native and having seen the damage first hand (my 2 sisters both had flood damage to their homes) I was very thankful and moved by how Pete and his congregation have witnessed and worked in the midst of this tragedy.

As I kept hearing about Pete's work in Nashville, I also kept hearing about his book. Plan B is about what we do when things don't work out the way we wanted them to. What do we do when God doesn't come through the way we thought he would or could or should? How do we deal with disappointment?

It's so ironic, because in many ways my hometown is going through one great big Plan B experience. No one expects the greatest amount of rainfall in over a Century to happen in a matter of 24 hours. But it did. So what is our response as Christians?

Personally, I feel like I'm going through my own Plan B right now. Actually, somedays it feels like I'm on Plan G...or H...I...J...K...

Some days I feel like my plan is like a big bowl of alphabet soup.

I didn't expect for my agency to hand me my last check almost 3 months ago and say "we're closing the business." I didn't expect to still be out of work. I didn't expect my father-in-law to still be living with us, almost 1 year after he first got sick. But that's where things are. So do I whine, complain and moan about "the good ol' days"? Do I spend my time and energy wishing things were somehow different?

The healthier response is to stop clinging to Plan A and trusting God that Plan B can work. Notice I said it was healthier...not easier. In fact, being ok with Plan B has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

But I'm trying. And I have a feeling that by reading Pete Wilson's book, it's going to help me tremendously along my new path.