for me, as it is for you

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time on the mission field it’s been the need to be flexible. Of course you say, haven’t you heard that many times before? Yes, I have, but I didn’t realize the daily; hourly confrontation I would be having with it.

Many times during our orientation we were told to be flexible; to recognize that things don’t always go according to plan and we must adjust – it’s life.

Yet, circumstances do arise and we shouldn’t get discouraged when … a missionary family who owns a trailer, bought honestly and fairly, needs it for an upcoming trip but has not received the paperwork to use it; still waiting for the papers to be given, or, the plan to complete a day of school is interrupted by the need to build a protective chicken coop for the baby chicks that have been born and are being pecked by the roosters, or an evening of rest has been pushed aside as the need for cooking for an upcoming trip is required, or …. (you fill in the blank). It may not seem like a lot, but it affects us in some way or another.

Today in my devotions I was challenged in the recognition that sometimes we get so solidified in our dreams and hopes or when we become so focused on what we are planning to do, that we cannot see what God is trying to do.

Our plans and dreams are often far removed from what God has in mind for us, and a lack of flexibility may cause us to miss Him and to be broken in the missing.

This is as much a reminder for the average Joe in the city as it is for the missionary on the field, or for even me. Perhaps next time things don’t go according to plan anticipate an interruption and welcome an opportunity.