blueprints for spring break

We had it all planned out.

Thursday Mr. Fantastic would be in Dallas, Boy 1 would play baseball, I would host home group.

Friday and Saturday Mr. Fantastic would take the boys camping while Baby Lady and I watched Sleeping Beauty and painted toenails.

Sunday we would do church, I would hit the spa with my gift card (thanks Mom and Dad!), the kids would head to Grammie’s house for a few days of extreme spoiling, and Mr. Fantastic and I would celebrate eleven years of marriage at a B&B outside of Austin.

Monday through Wednesday I would blissfully work and create and achieve amazing things as I conquered a new project.

Then it rained. No baseball. Lots of folks had last minute stuff come up. No home group. It kept raining. No camping. Granddaddy got sick. No Grammie’s house, no blissful creation happening.

Children were crying. Adults were confused. The blueprints for spring break were scratched.

Sometimes you just have to start over and trust it will all be okay.

The problem with a culture that says you deserve to get what you want is it has no answer for you in times like these. The problem with a gospel that says your hopes and plans are God’s top priority is you can miss God’s heart while you are looking at His empty hand.

Mick Jagger was the sage of all sages when he sang it: “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need!”

Thanks, Mick. I needed that today.

So here I sit, with a hot cup of tea, listening to the birds chirping as the boys play across the street and a fussy little girl is “napping” in her room. I am not accomplishing half of what I had planned to do this week. But in this quiet moment of lovely spring break-ness, I am happy to remember that I love my children more than my projects. My little loves give my days great value with their smiles and personalities.

Our home may not be productive, but it is peaceful as all six of us are thankful for this one thing: trusting that no matter what yesterday was like or what tomorrow may hold, God has given us all we really need today.

Knowing that makes all the difference.

Have a happy spring break, friends. What grand plans will you accomplish this week? May they include a great many blessings and lots of joy!