When Plans Fail
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I feel obligated to pull back the curtain and continue to point at the man behind it. This has been a great week for me - one that was a good start to new routines & rhythm. My reflections on being intentional and sharing some of my aspirations were a good indicator of my focus throughout the week. Lest anyone begin to have a false impression that I ‘have it all together,’ let me reassure you that I don’t.
Sometimes aspirations fail, though - even with the best intentions.
Someone pointed out that this week was sort of a “New Years” week for me… a time when changes in my life allowed me to make some new resolutions and step forward into them with added intensity. Not that the things I spent my time with were anything new - most had been there at one point or another in months past. But there’s something about intentionality mixed with new focus that allows you to make needed changes in a way that you may not be able to on a normal, daily basis.
But even the best plans fail at times. Let me give you one example…
Yesterday, we spent a much-needed lazy morning sleeping in & relaxing. There were things ‘to do’ that we really had little desire ‘to do,’ but we didn’t want to waste the day as it is easy to do when you are completely plan-less.
That’s when I had the brilliant idea to go geocaching. For those of you unfamiliar, geocaching is kind of like a modern-day treasure or scavenger hunt of sorts. People bury small containers called ‘caches’ all over the place. Most contain some sort of log book so that you can make your mark once you find them. Others are thematic. Many times people will take a memento from the container in exchange for leaving one of their own.
You can learn more, or search for caches nearby at geocaching.com.
It’s a fun thing to do. Josiah & I have done it in the past. The rest of the family hadn’t, though, so we decided to have it a go.
We found a cache hidden at a nearby park and headed out to do some hunting. We followed the GPS coordinates, looked at the clues, and proceeded to tramp around in the woods off the beaten path. We were doing okay, until one of us must have stepped on a beehive of some sort. All I know is that one minute we’re laughing and looking for hidden treasure, and the next both of the boys are screaming bloody murder and running to get away from the multiple bees that are attacking.
Between the two boys, they had a combined 13 bee stings! I got one, and both the girls got away unscathed. Needless to say our geocaching adventure came to a quick end as we took our wounded kids (and my wounded ego) back home to doctor.
Luckily none of us are allergic to bee stings, the pain/discomfort subsided relatively quickly, and the day ended well.
My brilliant plans completely & utterly failed, though.
As I look back over a week long reflection on time, rhythm and renewed focus in my life, I hope that the main points shine through and that people realize that good intentions are just that - intentions. Ultimately, I think we do well to have plans, to dream big, and to strive hard. It doesn’t guarantee that all of our aspirations will be achieved. I believe it does guarantee that some of them will, though, and that’s more than most of us will attain when we lead unintentional lives.
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Eliza shared their voice on 08.16.2009:
I love reading your thoughts, Chris, but I have a problem with this quote, “My brilliant plans completely & utterly failed, though.”
Personally, I don’t think they did. Yes, you did plan on finding a treasure, but I completely admire what you DID accomplish. You didn’t spend the whole day doing nothing. You brought your family together, taught them something, gave your children an adventure, and a memory of a mother and father spending time with their children. Now, yes, a little sappy, but in this world that moves too fast and there aren’t enough minutes in the day to get everything done that needs to be done, you stopped. Made them the priority. Yes, bee stings along the way, but they will NEVER forget this day. I so admire that! I love it that God makes us maybe realize what our focus actually was…
Chris shared their voice on 08.17.2009:
jason Z shared their voice on 08.17.2009:
Sometimes I think we make plans and God laughs. Not because he thinks we are incapable, but because the outcome always belongs to him. I don’t know if I agree that boys are sweeter Andrea..(have you seen my Lyla??) Some of life is missed in plan making. The coolest thing about God(and He is countlessly cool!) is that while He allows us to follow our intentions/plans..the process always seems to lead to ministry of some kind. Rock on my friends..Rock on.
Lisa shared their voice on 08.19.2009:
I’m so sorry that the boys got stung but it sounds like you did have an adventure. I had never heard of geocaching. Jacob got stung when we went swimming not too long ago. Thankfully it was only one sting and he was the only one stung. Not too traumatic.
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Andrea Ediger shared their voice on 08.16.2009:
Ahhh, reality. Rings so true in my heart. Doing life on purpose (including purposefully resting) is still the thing though, even if plans fall apart. I know there must be soooo many parents out there who set out to make a memory or have an adventure and end up having more of a memorable adventure than they intended - and not in a good way :) We did have a crazy end to our adventure. I think we may have convinced Micah that bee stings have no direct correlation to geocaching and so now he may, one day, geocache again. But Josiah still contends it may have been the worst day of his life. At least those couple of hours were until the Tylenol and Benedryl kicked in. A movie, popcorn and pigs in a blanket for supper seemed to help dull the pain as well.
The funniest part of the day you neglected to mention, however. Around the supper table last night we were re-living the events of the afternoon.
I commented to our 6 year old, “Well, Emerie, I guess we found out today that the Ediger guys are sweeter than the Ediger girls since they got stung and we didn’t.”
She frowns, then smiles and replies, “Yeah, well, they might be sweeter, but we are luckier because they got stung and we didn’t.” Clever girl.