One of the great blessings in the human nature given to us by our creator is the element of hope. It is seen primarily through what we refer as our “mind’s eye,” as we visualize what is to be instead of what is.
My actual physical eyes surveyed the mess that had been vomited off the back porch and onto the patio and walkway below it, and I caught myself thinking, “It’s going to be nice.” We had just finished painting the porch, and could then begin the task of arranging the shade-loving plants around the huge Japanese Maple that could not be moved along with its junior counterparts.
Picturing the walkway with its pretty hosta collection interspersed with columbines, hellebores, and coral bells was more challenging. First, my brain had to delete the weeds that had grown up in that bed while our aging (and aching) bodies stretched a week-long project into a month.
Two weeks later, the weeds and a few empty pots remain along the walkway, and the rocks collected with my granddaughter are scattered randomly about the patio in various containers. But yeah, the back porch is nice. And maybe the rest will get there.
In a less delightful peek into human nature — at least mine — I notice that it’s not always a given that a project gets finished, and certainly not in the time planned. I can’t even blame the ravages of Father Time on my slowness, since it took several decades to give away a large bag of crocheted “Granny Squares” I started as a teenager and never put together.
Sometimes our plans get re-routed for good reasons. Yesterday I had planned on organizing my outdoor work area after a necessary grocery shopping trip, but I got a call about a swarm of bees in the yard of a friend’s friend. We successfully collected them into a box before Bible Study and then picked them up afterwards.
Leftovers for dinner instead of chicken fajitas worked out just fine.
God often changed our plans for us.
“The mind of man plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9, NASB)
Sickness, disability, needs of our family and friends, projects and programs with our church family, work responsibilities; things pop up and distract from pretty much ANY job at hand. This is not to say they are all negatives!
We are ministering while taking soup to a sick sister or teaching VBS or even going the second mile sometimes at work, even when it was all unplanned and something else had to be put on the back burner to do it. Saving the swarm of bees was important, but not in our appointment calendar.
What we need to focus on is the big picture — the destination. I might still have the blue painter’s tape on the porch when my company arrives in a few days. Right now, YOU, dear reader, are my ministry; as is the person I’m waiting for at the doctor’s office as I write this.
It’s going to be nice, this destination where we are headed, if we are in Christ. The journey could be a little messy and unpredictable, but the word “nice” won’t be anywhere near adequate to describe the joys that await us.