It has been said that, “We plan and God laughs,” and we realize just how true that is when things don’t go as planned. Recently my god-sister, Angelia, another childhood girlfriend, Andy, and I planned a trip to Cancun, Mexico. Andy had never been out of the country and had heard that Cancun was a fun place to go. Angelia is a world traveler and I have been to my fair share of places, but we wanted to assist Andy in experiencing one of her heart’s desires. I booked the resort, Angelia made the flight reservations, and the three of us anxiously awaited our anticipated trip.
The week of the trip, Angelia realized she could not find her passport. She searched and we prayed but to no avail. She even went to the passport office in Washington, DC, but thanks to COVID restrictions, was unable to be serviced without an appointment. Throughout the week of the trip, I prayed and talked to God about our plans, while Angelia checked with the passport office every day, throughout the day, hoping for a cancellation. We were scheduled to begin Andy’s dream vacation on Saturday, and it was now Friday and no passport. We were crestfallen as it became more apparent with every hour that one of the three ‘Golden Girls’ was not going to be able to go. The closer we came to the day of our departure, the more fervently I prayed and even verbalized my belief that something would work out and we would all partake of our vacation as we imagined; “but God.” He knew what we did not know at the time, which was that the trip we planned would have been physically challenging for Angelia.
Andy and I lamented and labored over what we did not have the power to change, but God knew what was best for Angelia and did not honor our plans, as great as we thought they were. For starters, the beautiful little out-of-the-way resort I booked did not have an elevator, and our two-bedroom apartment was on the third floor. The room was beautiful and faced the pool and the ocean, but we had to climb three flights of stairs to get to it. Angelia may not have lost her religion over one flight, but we probably all would have been kicked out of the resort if she knew she had to climb three flights.
Next, my dear god-sister LOVES fried chicken and is happy to eat it every day. She and I have traveled to Korea and China and a number of other destinations and she will find a Kentucky Fried Chicken place, or some fast food restaurant that will accommodate her chicken-loving pallet. Our paradise resort had a small family-owned restaurant which prided itself on their fresh meals of the day, with some a day in advance requests, but fried chicken was not on the menu. They would probably have accommodated her and made it one day, but not on every day. To leave the resort and get to the main street was a good 5 or 6 mile walk, which she was definitely not going to do, and the mini-mart next to the resort did not serve fried chicken.
Shopping, which Angelia loves, would have required a cab ride. Getting to the excitement of the night life in town—not that we were looking to party—also required transportation to get there. We booked a couple of excursions, but they were sight-seeing trips to see the ruins and were not centered around shopping.
It became clear to me that God intervened in our plans and was working for Angelia’s good when Andy and I booked and took a tour to Chichen Itza, a Mayan ruin which is one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the World.’ With this tour we went to a Mayan village where we were entertained by dancers while we dined
on a traditional Mexican/Mayan buffet, after which we were taken to a beautiful regional park called Cenote Selva Maya, where you walk down an ancient flight of stone stairs with a life jacket to swim in an underground canyon, which reportedly had healing powers in the water. What would have been the highlight of the trip for Angelia was the stop in one of the towns to do some shopping, but we were only allotted 20 MINUTES, which really was just a tease for all of us die-hard shoppers. She hates the heat, and you often see her fanning even in the winter, when the rest of us are layering on clothing to stay warm. As amazing as the ruins at Chichen Itza were, it was the hottest I have ever been in my life, and there was no shade. I was praying for God to help me hold out until the end of the tour, while our guide thoroughly explained every aspect of the time period and Mayan life associated with the ruins. I know with conviction that if hell is hotter than this place was, I don’t want to go there. It felt like 120 degrees, but I didn’t have the energy to check the temperature or inquire about how hot it might have been. My only thought was getting back on the air conditioned bus and getting out of there. As I flopped down in my seat, I told Andy that there is NO way Angelia could have or would have made it. The entire trip was from 7:30 am to 8:00 pm and I know by 3:00 pm, if not before, she would have been trying to make arrangements to get back to the resort.
We often forget when things don’t go as planned, that God knows better for us than we know for ourselves. He sees what we don’t see and knows what we don’t have a clue about. He promises to work all things out, “…for our good and His glory” (Romans 8:28). We may feel frustrated, disappointed, angry, and hurt because things didn’t work out according to our plans, but trust that the God who loves us and wants the best for us, may intervene in our plans to work things out for our good.
When things don’t go as planned, take a deep breath, and say as Jesus said, “Not my will, but yours Father.”
Peace and Blessings My Chickadees, Gail
