Change. That one word has been the theme for this month for my team and I. Originally we were supposed to be on an island working with an orphanage. That changed. Then we were supposed to be in a small town in northern Nicaragua working with Pastor Juan Carlos and his church. That happened for only four days. Then we were supposed to be with another pastor, Jaime, and his family for a week before returning to Pastor Juan Carlos’ house. That also changed last minute and instead of going back with Juan Carlos we are now staying with Jaime for the remainder of the month.
Because of all the changes that have been happening with where we are going to be our ministry has also changed a lot and been very unpredictable. We will be told one thing about what the plan is that we will be doing and often that will change. Most days we wake up with no idea or very little idea with what exactly we will be doing.
None of the changes we experienced are bad they are simply not the original plan. I like structure. As mundane and boring as routine can be I like it. I like to be able to plan out my week. To know what we will be doing during ministry so I can arrange my workout schedule and other things I need to get done with my free time. With all the changes that have been taking place it is really hard to make a structured plan.
But ministry often looks like this. We will have one plan that we want to do and we think will work but God often has a different plan. I had a plan to finish college in four years. Nothing was going to distract me from that. I always had a full schedule and even took some spring classes to keep myself on track and ahead of the game. However, God had a different plan. He called me to take a year off and change what my plan was to go on the World Race. I was very reluctant at first because my plan made sense. In the moment Gods plan does not always make sense. It does not always seem logical and very rarely is there a nice structure and plan laid out for us. God often only gives us one piece of the puzzle or one little snapshot and as we follow him he will reveal the next piece when we need it, not before hand. One of the benefits of not knowing a schedule or plan is it forces me to live in the moment. Procrastination is not really an option because if I want or need to do something I need to do it when I have the chance because I don’t know when the next opportunity will be. It is causing me to let go of control and simply be used as the ministry people need that day. In ministry a need will often come up last minute that wasn’t planned for and people have to choose to either help with the need and disrupt their schedule and plan or ignore the need. I never want to be one that allows my schedule and routine to get in the way of helping someone or being used by God.
So this month has taught me to hold my schedule loosely and to allow and welcome change and disruptions in my routine. Sometimes the best stories and most beautiful moments take place when you welcome change and allow God to have reign over your schedule and routine.
