a delightful change of plans

Don’t plan without God. God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the plans we have made, when we have not taken Him into account. We get ourselves into circumstances that were not chosen by God, and suddenly we realize that we have been making our plans without Him -- that we have not even considered Him to be a vital, living factor in the planning of our lives. And yet the only thing that will keep us from even the possibility of worrying is to bring God in as the greatest factor in all of our planning. --My Utmost for His Highest

Oh, how those words speak to me. (Thanks, Laura!)

Naturally, I'm a worrier. I wonder if I'll have enough time to get every thing done. I think about if I said the right thing or if reacted too emotionally. I fret over standing my ground while still loving people. I find it easy to fill my life with tasks and outings. Oh, the worries.

But the days when I thank God for all the many, many good things around me and give him my day, those worries seem to go away. When I don't plan my day away but realize laying Cate on my legs and talking to her as she smiles back is so much more important, I get so much more done. I always wonder how that's possible, how giving up tasks for even a few moments can make me much more efficient with my time.

(Seriously, since lunch I've made it to the grocery, played with Cate, interviewed someone on the phone, written a column, started a load of laundry and made dinner plans. On a side note: Cate may be small, but, man, she has a lot of laundry ... clothes, towels, burp clothes, blankets ...)

Then I'm reminded God makes it possible. When he's taking care of the details of my life, I can worry less, life more joyful and love so much more comfortably. I still manage to get done what needs to be done, but my attitude about it all is so much more pleasant. And I don't feel like I've planned my life away.

Cate is such a beautiful reminder of how my life should be prioritized. And I have no doubt that such a lesson is one of the many reasons Cate is with us.