Years ago, Chip and I had the occasion to be in Hong Kong. It’s vibrancy was matched by an exotic sort of chaos, delivered by its 7 million inhabitants vying for crowded spaces amidst its mountainous terrain. Kowloon, the mainland territory, is hemmed in by China, soaring peaks, and one of the busiest ports in the world. Hong Kong island, a short boat ride across the channel, along with several other islands, make up the remainder of the city. The tall corporate skyscrapers exist in close proximity to the colorful markets, each street more crowded than another. We were exploring the island, waiting for the train trolley that stretches across the city while being jostled by the surrounding swarms. As the train pulled to the stop, I hopped on quickly, not realizing that Chip was not “hopping” with me. Oops! As the doors closed automatically, and the train sped off, I turned to see him standing on the sidewalk with a look of surprise on his face. He had the money, I had the maps, & without the other, we were lost. Quite abruptly, we wished we had “Plan B.”
I do enjoy making plans: there is anticipation and a strong satisfaction in seeing days and weeks ahead “mapped out” in orderly fashion, as well as the expectation of promise. Viewing entries on our calendar might even lend themselves to validating our value, as if establishing future footholds secures what is ahead and our ability to control it. Over this past year, I have learned that “Plan B” is when those footholds are no longer there: the treatment erases them. Events and arrangements collapse more than materialize, and hesitancy replaces certainty. Existing in a realm where each hour might differ dramatically from the last dulls the stability of finite schedule, as determining plans become a minefield of unknowns. The word “cancel” becomes much too familiar.
| Not a new discovery, but an affirmed truth, is that God has had “Plan B” all along. Probably His most well-known dialogue in which we find such assurance of His guarantee is with Jeremiah. “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Wow! that sounds excellent now, but imagine how it sounded to the Jews who had been in exile and bondage in Bablylon for DECADES! Such a promise from the God who cannot lie! Yet the next few verses have even more potential: “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, declares the LORD, and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Here is eternal hope wrought out, prepared, defined and promised. What a pledge of: “I’ve got you covered.” Cancer, treatment, & “what happens next” can create an atmosphere lacking in footholds, parched by unknowns and even packed with a little fear to make things interesting. It can feel like exile: a captivity where one can so easily lose the promise that entries on a calendar, fellowship with dear ones, and formless future can create. Although it might feel like temporary banishment, it is rock solid in its outcome. “He will bring us back” from where we have been carried by the promise of all God’s gracious purposes and designs: His Son. This is the end “hoped for, waited for, and expected by faith.” That is a Plan B I can rest in beyond a sliver of doubt. I will continue to make plans and will be grateful for the ones that occur. Yet I pray not to lose sight that Plan B will always be the better one as “Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand,” (Prov 19). As this truth is echoed throughout Scripture, “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord…The heart of man plans his way but the Lord establishes his steps," (Psa & Prov 16) it brings me to the place where I can say with unshakable assurance, with no fear of being lost, “Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recite to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” Meanwhile, I am so touched and affected by the multitude of you who respond with such patience and care in this zone of planning disability! Your continued prayers surround Chip and I and maintain through God’s grace all the goodness these days have to offer…..even in the face of deeply quiet times. Thank you! |
