Sometimes His plans are just so much better….

I think I need that tattooed on my forehead.  Seriously, it'd have to be backwards so I could read it in the mirror, and then I'd not only have a tat on my forehead, but no one but me would be able to read it…I've already got my pastor convinced my husband needs extra prayer, this may send him over the edge…HAHAHAHA
Sometimes, he takes us to a place of utter bleakness (is that a word, Lori V.?, ) in order to bring us back into the light, to a place filled with the joy of knowing that he has a plan for us and it's just so much better than anything we could have ever imagined, planned, made happen, whatever!

5 kids.  That was most certainly not in my plan.  If you'd asked me in my late 20's if I was going to have ANY, I'd have laughed in your face.
Homeschooling?  Not on your life.
Living in Swansboro?  Have you lost your mind?!

His plan.  Perfect.

My plan this week was to have our family be a part of Journey to the Cross at our church, an intense and moving journey through Christ's last days.  Well….that wasn't His plan.  And I know, it seems a bit of an oxymoron for Him to have a plan that takes us out of THAT.  Well, last night He showed me why.

Rewind a bit...Max & Mercy have been battling fevers, overall exhaustion, snot, sore throats and no appetite on and off for about a week or 2.  Tuesday, Mercy's neck started hurting and I thought she had pulled a muscle.  Then Wednesday night, she couldn't turn her head and Max had a lymph node on the side of his neck that was hard and hugely swollen.  Doc visit Thursday morning = Strep for both & poor Mercy has a nasty case of torticollis from the severity of her swollen lymph nodes.  All this resulted in our family having to pull out of Journey.  Big SAD FACE!  Eva & Charley were especially bummed.  :-(  So, what's the point?  Well, read on, my friends.

It was just a trip to the commissary.  Charley begged to go and even though what I really craved was a quiet trip alone, I caved.  On the way home, as I was driving, I felt prompted to ask her a question.  (A little background here…whenever you ask Charley about growing up, she pulls a total Peter Pan and tells you that is NOT happening.  She absolutely does NOT want to grow up.  This answer has NEVER changed.)
Me: "So, Charley, I have a question.  IF you ever decided that you MIGHT grow up, what do you want to do with your life?"
Charley: "I want to be a MISSIONARY!"
Me: (stunned, shocked and almost speechless…) "Why do you want to be a missionary?"
Charley:  "I want to tell people about what God did for us when Jesus died on the cross!"
Me: teary, speechless…

Suffice it to say that following this conversation, Charley then informed me that she was ready to be baptized.

AGAIN.  Speechless.


Now, I'll clarify.  I'm not speechless because she has decided she is ready.  I'm speechless at God's timing in all this. I've doubted myself so often lately and have really struggled with whether or not we're  hearing His whispers through the crush of our daily lives.  And I've really struggled with feeling like we're not doing the "right things" when it comes to their hearts.  God knew her father & I needed this, He knew it was time to see fruit, He knew it was time for her to come to Him in baptism.

His plan.

His timing. 

His perfect peace.

As we move toward the Cross this week, recognizing and rejoicing in His resurrection, my heart is filled to the brim with thankfulness for ALL He blesses us with, even illnesses that seem inconvenient and painful at the time.

As it says in Luke 6:45, "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."  My Charley's heart is full of love for the Lord!

Thank you Jesus.
Love,
clan mac mama
p.s. That picture is Charley at 2 weeks old…He was already telling me to be patient, to wait for His timing.  :-)