plans.

         If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.      

      Well, I don't know if I heard this or read this recently, but it sort of stuck in my mind...

       And here's the imperative thing to realize, I think: His laughter is never at our expense. It's never rude or mocking; never derisive or humiliating. Uh-uh,  I think that his laughter sounds a lot like hope, bubbling up from this deep, fathomless place from within the heart of God; and somehow it is that place that makes any good at all come out of this place; this world with all of the cubicles of hours that outline our days and differentiate the time to work from the time to play, and the chance encounters with rude cops or beautiful souls who remind us that a lot of people are worth becoming our friends, though there are still some that are not, and in the midst of it all there is the mostly far-away, but every once in a while sweetly close sound of golden, gulping laughter and it is the reminder that God has very good things planned for us, indeed.  

   And He is laughing because they are so very much better than we had planned for ourselves.

    The hard part for us, then, is being brave enough to laugh with him--"at the days to come," like that matriarch of matriarchs does in Proverbs 31--or even at the days behind us, those days that will somehow, by a brilliant stroke of an even more brilliant hand, be made to fit into a plan that works, that even becomes beautiful.  

    I think maybe when I told God my plans, they went something like this:

• planned to be a mermaid when I grew up, realized I wasn't a great swimmer (let alone the issue of breathing underwater) , so...
• planned to become a veterinarian, realized that involved a lot of science, so...
• planned to become a ballerina, realized that meant just ballet, all the time, with no room for any of my other loves, so...
• planned to be a wife, and a good one at that, am doing that (hopefully!), so...
• planned to have a slew of children in my 20's, realized that I wanted to perform now and have the babies later, so...
• planned to be on Broadway, had to start somewhere, though, so worked at a dinner theater in Delaware, which led to where I am now...
• planned to make music, still planning on making music, hopefully never stopping this plan...
• planned to have long, curly blond hair (this was when perms were still a viable option)
• planned to live in PA all my life...

   See, I have had tons of plans!!!

   

   And well, God probably laughed a little or maybe even a lot when I told Him about them, because he knew he had something better planned for me (which is not to say that plan is not perfect for somebody else. If you want a perm, I will not judge you!).  Here I am, married, for sure, but no kids yet.  Dancing, uh-huh, but also singing and acting in a broadway show. Getting paid to do what is truly a joy for me...I am not a mermaid, and oh, not a single blond, curly hair is on my head, and I am okay with this. Really.  Perms dry out your hair, I am pretty sure, anyway. 

    But I still make plans.  

  It is only human nature to do so--especially if you happen to be a bit of a go-getter.  And please God, may these plans be close to your will...But if not, well then I know you've got something better in mind.  And it's okay, I don't mind when you laugh, because I know it's the sound of something good coming my way (eventually).