God’s Unique Plan for Every One of Us

Have you ever wondered how you got to where you are now from where you were years ago, even as a child or a young person? The course of life is never what we expect, and often we encounter twists and turns we could never have imagined. If you’ll indulge me briefly, I’d like to use myself as an example.

 

I’ve often thought that if I were to write a book about the path my life has taken, I’d give it the title, “You Can’t Get There from Here.” Growing up in New Jersey, I headed southwest to attend a college in Houston, Texas. At the time I had no plans of pursuing a writing career but was fortunate to have an English instructor who thought differently. She offered encouragement, saying she saw promise in me as a writer and even urged me to enter an essay contest, which I happened to win.

 

That prompted me to change my major to English. However, envisioning having to poetically ponder flowers and trees or study the likes of Shakespeare, Chaucer and Lord Byron, I determined instead to find a school that offered a strong journalism curriculum. That made Columbus, Ohio the next stop on my itinerary.

 

Journalism and I fit together like the proverbial hand in glove; two professors in particular impressed upon me the art of newswriting along with the virtues of objectivity, fairness and balanced reporting. (That was before modern journalists decided such things aren’t necessary.) I took only one class in photojournalism as an undergrad, but as a graduate teaching assistant my assignment was to teach…photojournalism. That year I learned as much about the craft as the students I was teaching to load raw film into canisters, process exposed film, print photos and master various skills in those bygone days before digital cameras.

 

Upon graduating, my intention to get my first job on a metropolitan daily newspaper was cast aside. My only job offer came from a community newspaper in a Columbus suburb. So, instead of being pigeon-holed as a copy editor, police beat reporter or even an obituary writer, my responsibilities as editor were wide-ranging. They included covering city government, local schools and the school board, high school sports and the community theater, writing editorials, columns and features, doing engagement and wedding announcements, obituaries – and lots of photography.

 

Did I mention I met my wife and we started our family together there?

 

That diverse experience opened doors for other opportunities, including a brief stint on a suburban daily newspaper, back to Houston to work as editor of a much larger community newspaper. There I gained experience not only on the editorial side but also the business side of publishing a newspaper, which prepared me for subsequent ministry roles in the business and professional world after we moved to Chattanooga.

 

Most important, God used each stop to advance my spiritual pilgrimage, which ultimately has made all the difference in my becoming – and continuing to become – the person I am today. Early in my walk with Jesus Christ, I came across a passage that seemed to sum up my life’s meandering course: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

 

I could not have planned out the ways God would direct me. In fact, I’m glad I couldn’t because my life certainly wouldn’t have turned out as it has. Another verse I have embraced is Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” 

 

A fulfilling life, I’ve learned, is not a passive one, sitting on a stump waiting for things to happen. We have to take initiative when opportunities present themselves, but ultimately the outcome rests in the Lord’s hands. Many times I thought I knew what needed to happen, and when it didn’t, I felt disappointment, even discouragement. But in retrospect, I came to appreciate the truth of Romans 8:28, “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Recovery groups often use the so-called “serenity prayer” to encourage participants, but in a real sense, it encapsulates a healthy way to view and understand our lives as they unfold: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” We have our part; God has His, and together we can create a life that brings us joy and gives Him much glory.