Praying For Sunshine But Carrying an Umbrella

On Sundays my preferred exercise is walking around our neighborhood lake. I turn on a podcast of a sermon, and then I listen, meditate, and create. It’s so peaceful. When the weather started to warm up, I was excited to get back outside, but then it rained. On the following Sunday the forecast said rain, but I was determined to walk. So I prayed for sunshine and went walking with my umbrella. Who does that? Who prays for one thing yet has a backup plan? Does that demonstrate a lack of faith? Let’s dig deeper. I had dinner last night at one of my favorite local restaurants, and I got a chance to talk to one of the owners. I was sharing with her about some of my life experiences, and I told her how at one time I felt blindsided by life. I told her that my younger self never anticipated a divorce, a house fire, or struggles with my son. I never saw the financial devastation coming or the challenge of teaching difficult students over the course of my career. Hadn’t a college degree been my insurance that the rest of my life was going to go smoothly? If you’re not laughing, you should be. Rationally we know that life doesn’t go in a straight line, but emotionally I believe it is the inability to control life that hurts us. Despite what we see in everyone else’s lives we begin to think that we can control our own life’s events and outcomes. We cannot do either. What we can do is pray for the best but anticipate some sharp turns along the way. Ultimately this is what we can depend on. God promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He also promises in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. Are you doing everything that you can do to promote the plan of God? I’m sure you are. Will everything go in a smooth, straight path? I’m almost sure it will not. Trust God, trust His plan, and trust His path.