Plan I

Was I the only one who was ever asked the question, “Where do you see yourself in 1, 5, 10, or 20 years from now?” Growing up, I could always answer with something like “in college” or “married with a family.” However, during my senior year of high school and freshman year of college, I had to put more thought into my future than ever before. I began to carefully craft a plan for the next few years of my life, investing a lot of time and effort. The hardest part of this process for me was deciding which path to take. I had so many things I wanted to do and experiences I wanted to have. It was extremely difficult to choose between all these exciting options.

I found this overwhelming because I wanted to pick the right path while still having a safety net, knowing that whichever path I chose would drastically affect how my life unfolded. This caused me a lot of stress and anxiety. Eventually, I decided that since I had so many good options in front of me—each one beneficial for my future in some way—the best course of action was to choose one and move forward with faith. So I did, and that door was promptly closed.
I moved on to Plan B and started working towards that, but shortly thereafter, that door closed as well. Then I moved on to Plan C, and later Plan D. More doors closed. Plans E, F, and G yielded the same result. At this point, I was beginning to feel very discouraged. I couldn’t understand why all these plans, which felt so right and for which I had prayed, invested time and money, kept falling through. With each plan that didn’t work out, I thought that surely my next plan would be the right one, and I had simply chosen wrongly the last time.

As I am currently living out what I call Plan I for my life, I have come to realize that sometimes the Lord doesn’t want us to know exactly where we are going or for our first plan to work out. He wants us to have goals and something to work towards, but He also wants to shape and mold our lives according to His will. I love the video the church released a while ago titled “The Refiner’s Fire.” It reminds us that, while trials can be hard and we may never fully understand the reasons behind them, each rejection, experience, trial, and loss is part of being molded into the person Christ needs us to be. Although I am working towards my current goals, I now move forward with the understanding that it’s okay not to know exactly what to do, as long as you have the faith to take action and allow the Lord to guide you on the right path.

The Refiner's Fire Video: