When My Plans Fall Apart
by Tina Yeager
“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”
The opportunity to speak had arrived at last. As I practiced my talk for the evening one last time, the prop tumbled from my nervous fingertips and smashed onto the tile floor. I scooped up the shards and attempted to glue the hollow and hopeless shell of a bird together. Yet my efforts took more time than I could spare and failed to repair the object for my intended message. The fragments looked hopeless like the many other words left out of opportunities that I had hoped would meet the perfect audience.
I cradled my broken turtledove prop and grieved for the hope which now struggled to fly. My plans to serve the Lord had so often fallen apart. All the rejected manuscripts and failed projects. Just like the fragments of this once-cherished piece, I scooped bits of a dream into the trash each time.
Could any of my shattered work, including this evening’s message, find a way to serve God’s purpose?
The mothers in need of a message for their worry-battered children would soon sit before me. None of us stood to benefit if I continued to fixate on my shattered plans. So, I tied a wide silk ribbon around my broken prop’s body and gifted the mess and message to Jesus.
Christ had already positioned himself amid my audience and had a perfect plan to serve their needs. He has other audiences, perhaps as readers, waiting in the days I have not foreseen. Though my efforts to reach them might fall apart, the Lord will uphold his perfect message and see it through to wholeness in his perfect timing.
Jesus, thank you for reminding me you hold all things together. Please keep my soul focused on you as the one who remains before all things. Even when my plans fall apart, I’m grateful you wrap me in your perfect, ultimate design. Amen.
Award-winning author, speaker, licensed counselor, and life coach, Tina encourages audiences to fulfill their potential. She created a Subdue Stress and Anxiety course featuring 15 expert presenters, offers writing workshops through Serious Writer Academy, hosts the Flourish-Meant podcast, and is head mentor with Word Weavers International. Check out Beautiful Warrior, her book on women’s esteem, and connect with at tinayeager.com.