I thought about this today as I have been contemplating the meaning of God's will versus our wants. We spend our whole life planning for all the pieces of our life to fit neatly into a perfect little tray. We want everything to go in place as it "should". But just like in the game of Perfection, we struggle with the pieces that don't fit. We find ourselves competing against some sort of timer and if time runs out, then our life seems to explode into little pieces. Despite our best efforts in making the pieces fit, sometimes THEY.JUST.DON'T.FIT.
Many times, God's will and our wants clash. What does it mean when we say "it's God's will"? Our wants and plans do not involve sickness, death, grief, pain, suffering, etc. But those things happen despite our best laid out plans. I don't believe that it is ever God's will for us to suffer through these hardships. That's not the God I know. I love what I read this morning about God's will and our plans ... "Since we are so limited in understanding what is going on around us and what the long-range impact of our plans might be, we understand that God might overrule because He has something else that needs to be accomplished." I do not know God's plan when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. I do not know God's plan when a baby is taken way too soon. I do not know God's plan when turmoil and destruction surrounds us. What I do know is that God HAS a plan. And all of HIS pieces fit perfectly. Every time. And somehow that calms any anxiety that I experience when I feel like I am racing against time. That's God's PERFECTION and that's a game I will gladly play.