Thanksgiving Plan B

Proverbs 16:9 

The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.

I am sitting in a quiet house with just the hum of the washer and dryer in the background.  Outside my windows the snow falls silently in big, heavy, wet flakes.  It is a rare moment of solitude, rest, and reflection. The two littles are napping snug in their beds while the rest of the household is in town volunteering at the community Thanksgiving dinner.  It is a sweet day and I'm filled with reason to rejoice and give thanks.

However, this was not how I had planned for today to go several weeks ago, or even last week at this time.  My Plan A included an 11 hour road trip to visit family in Illinois and a weekend full of cousins and fun. Plan B included lice, lice, and more lice, an amazing opportunity to deep clean the entire house including all sheets and bedding (several times), re-organizing the cupboards and pantry closet, board games, card games, movies and a heap of library books, and a 16 year old foster girl with nowhere to go for Thanksgiving,

In the past it has been hard for me to not get disappointed when my plans don't work out.  I have my heart and mind set on something and when it doesn't go as planned, well, I get discouraged.  I think of  what might have been and I grieve, or pout, or sulk.  I am slowly learning that my Plan B is not God's second best for my life.

While I would have loved to spend this holiday with family making lefse, watching plays created by our kids and their cousins, taking family pictures, and storing up memories, God had a different plan for our family.  Moving our family this spring/summer felt like it required a herculean effort followed closely by diving right into school (and making adjustments to school plans) this fall.  We have been feeling the burden of the move and so many transitions catching up to us. It is good to just stop and be still, to be where we are and to be content and thankful.

Plan A was a good plan that seemed so full of fun and Plan B is a good plan, full of other memories and a sweetness that I had never planned for.  A week ago a 16 year old came to stay with us temporarily while her kinship foster placement got licensed.  Life has been tragically hard for this amazing teen.  The paperwork process to reunify her with relatives has been fraught with issues.  So here she sits with no family to go to for Thanksgiving weekend and here we sit with no where to go.  I shouldn't be surprised that my Plan B is not God's second best for my life.

There is purpose in knowing we can be family for this sweet teenager this weekend.  We amended the schedule for the weekend to include volunteering at the Community Thanksgiving Dinner, decorating for Christmas, baking our favorite holiday treats, and some fun family down time.  As an added bonus, the house is clean and more organized than it has been since we unpacked boxes this summer!  There is so much to be thankful for today, especially that it is the Lord who establishes our steps.