Proverbs 19

Have you ever had a plan that you had all ready to go and then it was frustrated by something outside your control? If you are one of the few people in the world who has not had this experience, here is one that I had on a vacation trip to Alaska.

We took the train from Anchorage to Healy, and then from Healy to the national park. Along the way, we were told that we should look out the window and we could see this unique house.

I placed myself at a perfect vantage point, found the house in the viewfinder, clicked the picture and this is what I found.

picture with trees in the way — Trees obliterating the view I had hoped to capture!

The train went a bit farther and, given the blessing of digital photography, I snapped another picture.

picture without trees — There is the Tower House as seen from the train to Denali National Park.

I got it! Here is the house, enlarged for better viewing.

We had been told about the Dr. Seuss House outside Willow, Alaska. The local folks say that it is 12 stories tall, sufficient to stand above the surrounding trees. The owner built the house after a forest fire and as a result of the fire, he had incredible unobstructed views of Mount McKinley (also known as Mount Denali) and of the Denali National Park as well.

However, as trees will do, the forest rejuvenated itself and new trees grew up after the fire so that the owner lost the view that he coveted. Not willing to concede defeat, he simply built another story on top of the existing house so he could see above the trees. This continued and, ultimately, he had a 12-story house, but at least he could see above the trees! The locals call it “The Dr. Seuss Tower House”.

[For more information about this unique house, you can find an article written by Alexa Carrasco, dated April 17, 2015 at http://www.curbed.com/2015/4/7/9972998/dr-seuss-willow-alaska-house. The article includes an aerial video of the house as well as some photographs of the entire building.]

My plan to take a picture of the Tower House was frustrated because between the time I saw the house and clicked the camera for the picture, trees intervened and blocked my view.

This, of course, is quite mundane, all I had to do to get my plan accomplished was to wait a moment and snap another picture. But, many of our plans that we create are not so trivial.

That same trip to Alaska actually was frustrated shortly after I snapped the picture when, after eating lunch at the End of the Road Restaurant in Denali National Park, I fell and severely broke my ankle. I didn’t know when I was taking the picture or when I was eating lunch that my Alaska train tour was going to end moments later. I spent the rest of the time in Alaska either riding for 6 hours in an ambulance out of the national park, riding for 6 hours in a taxi taking me from Healy to an Anchorage hospital (the nearest place that had x-rays), spending the rest of the week at doctor’s offices, surgery with 9 weeks of non-weight bearing ahead of me.

Our plans were frustrated big time! But God. Don’t you love reading those words in Scripture? But God had other plans for us.

Scripture tells us:

“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

Proverbs 16:9

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.“

Proverbs 19:21

While the trip took a dramatic turn which we did not expect, the trip was in every way a success, and I even have the plates and screws in my ankle as souvenirs that most other people don’t receive! The Lord was especially present with us during this time. For example, we met people from the train who were missionaries to native Alaskans on remote islands prayed when they saw me fall and I learned that they told our traveling companions along the way that they were praying for healing.

On the only day after surgery that I could go anywhere to see any sights in Alaska, we drove to Seward and saw a landscape rainbow. It was as if God was saying “I know you only see the clouds of pain and difficulty ahead, but I am with you even protecting you from the clouds. Trust me. You are in my hands.”

My husband took a picture and then we rounded the corner to come back and get the picture from another angle … but the rainbow was gone. God’s message was received and He didn’t need to let it hang around any longer. It is my favorite picture from Alaska and we had it enlarged so that it hangs in our family room reminding us of God’s incredible love and constant care.

“O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”

Isaiah 25:1

At the end of the trip, we were singing the Lord’s praises along with the prophet Isaiah. You see, God’s plans are not frustrated by anything. He knew I was going to fall and He also knew that He had put in place people that He wanted us to meet and experiences to have during this time. His love never fails and He is faithful and sure.

Beloved, when our plans are frustrated and we feel that we have been robbed of opportunity, don’t believe Satan’s lie – don’t think that God has let you down or that God is not in control of all things.

Our God is omniscient and omnipotent. He knows all things and He is all powerful. This Almighty God loves you and His plans for your life will be accomplished, even if they are seemingly interrupted by negative events. Trust Him and believe His unfailing Word.

Father, I praise your name for your steadfast love and endless mercy and grace. Thank You for your mercy in your provision of the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, Who provides salvation for all those who believe in His name. Thank You for your promise that You are always with us and that You will never leave us or forsake us, even when it seems that all is going wrong. We praise your holy Name.

I find it interesting when I talk to people about vacations. Some folks just “go with the flow.” No need to plan where they are going to stop, “there will be a place somewhere!” No need to get tickets ahead of time, “there will be a seat available!”

Others plan every hour and second of their time away from home. They have hotel and restaurant reservations. They have tickets, in hand, for various events they want to see or in which they want to participate. And, they have maps galore including the most up-to-date GPS program available.

I suspect that most people are a combination of these two extremes, but I am mostly a “planner” while my husband is more of a “go with the flow” guy. It makes for some interesting times.

taylor-mcgee-campbell-wisconsin-dormatory — Taylor University, Upland, Indiana — picture of McGee-Campbell-Wisconsin, my dormitory when I was a student in the late 1960s. It had been demolished by the time our daughter graduated from the University in 2000.

We had two children in college at the same time. They both were in out-of-state schools, each about 7 hours away from our home but in opposite directions! This did not create too much of a problem until the year when Parents’ Weekend was held on the same date for both schools. Normally we do things together, but given the circumstances, I went to our daughter’s school and my husband went to our son’s school.

vmi-jackson-hall-1996 — Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia, picture taken in 1998 of Jackson Hall (the dormitory) when our son was a cadet there.

Since we were going in opposite directions, leaving at different times, it never occurred to me to make my husband’s hotel reservations. He made his own plans when he traveled for work so I didn’t think twice about his plans for this trip, especially since he was going to an area not far from his birthplace.

I planned my trip and even arranged for an Aunt to meet me in the small Indiana college town as a surprise for our daughter. I had started loading the car with things that she wanted for her dorm room when my husband asked: “Where am I staying tonight?” I responded: “I don’t know; where did you make your reservations?”

The blank look on his face was all the answer I needed. No reservations. “Well,” he said, “there are loads of rooms in the area.” So I headed for Indiana and he headed for Virginia. He knew the area well, in fact it had been his sales territory for a number of years, so I was not concerned about his ability to find lodging.

What neither of us knew was that all of the gazillion schools in northern Virginia had Parents’ Weekend at the same time. What he also did not know, but soon found out, was that no rooms were available in any of the hotels/motels near the VMI campus.

I, on the other hand, was safely booked into my hotel when I tried calling him on his cell phone. At that point in the day, he told me about all the Parents’ Weekend activities and mentioned that he did not yet have a room. He was confident that it would be easy to find one; he just had “not really looked”.

Later, he called to tell me that he found lodging – an hour away from the college and in the direction of our home. He was not in a regular room but in the hotel’s conference room. I then had a mental picture of a long table with all the chairs pushed in forming a fence with his sleeping form stretched out between the chairs, a book for his pillow. Rather like the Biblical Patriarch Jacob, I thought!

conference-room-table

While he let me have that delusion for a while, later in the conversation he told me that the room had a sleeper sofa. There went the Jacob analogy!

Praise the Lord that He is sovereign. In our arrogance and sin, we think that we have our life all worked out, but we must remember that our life is always under His control, whether we plan and schedule or relax about the details. Job learned this millennia ago when he said:

“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”

Job 42:1-2

Moving into the New Testament, when Pilate said that he had the power to either free or crucify Jesus, Jesus corrected him:

“You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”

John 19:10-11.

In Proverbs 19:21 the writer says:

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’S purpose that prevails.”

I have to confess that my planning down to the infinite detail is something of which I must repent since it falls in the category of prideful sin. You know, something along these lines: “I’ve got this, Lord. You can take care of more important things!”

I further suspect that Bill’s relaxed attitude is much more like that which our Lord desires. Rest in His arms and let Him handle the details. I’m basing this on the teachings in Matthew chapter 6, a chapter which I commend to your reading.

In it, Jesus talked about anxiety and told His disciples, and us, not to worry about our life or what we are going to eat or wear. God knows what we need and He will work His will through us. At the end of the chapter, He says:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Matthew 6:33-34 ESV

Yeah, I believe that this supports my husband’s relaxed attitude about planning, and it is something that I have to cultivate in my own life on a daily basis.

Ultimately, both of us had marvelous times with the children on our respective Parents’ Weekends. Even when things seem to be hectic, helter-skelter, and going awry, God has even the tiniest details in His hands. What an incredible, caring and omniscient God we serve. What a glorious blessing it is to call Him “Father” through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thank You, Father, for guiding us through the hurdles that we encounter in this world. Thank You for loving us and sending Your Son to be our Savior. Thank You for blessing us with Your Spirit as He teaches and encourages us along the way. Thank You that Your purpose always prevails, even when things seem out of control to our limited way of thinking!