Your "Plans" for 2011

It is January 1, 2011. I am sitting here thinking about things. Doesn’t the first of the year tend to be a time of reflection for many of us? We think about the past year and everything that happened. We consider the future and what may be ahead. Some of us make New Year’s Resolutions, others of us set goals.

But you know what I am thinking about? My children. As I consider 2011, I really don’t know what to expect. I don’t know much of what God has in store but there is something I do know about this year. It will be the year that my oldest son enters his last year of high school. It will also be the year that my daughter enters her first year of high school.

It is a bittersweet thing to consider. The idea that my son’s high school years are almost over is saddening to me. But at the same time I am excited about his future. So far his plans are to attend Gateway Technical College to earn his aeronautics-pilot training degree. He is seriously considering a career as a commercial airlines pilot. But really, all he knows at this point is that he just wants to fly.

It is also a bit sad for me to think that my daughter is leaving behind her K-8 school and heading off to a much larger high school. I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief that we have almost made it through the middle school years with just a few bumps in the road. But to know she is about to enter her last four years of school is also exciting and I trust that God has much in store for her.

So while I should be thinking about losing some weight, setting some personal goals and working on relationships…this first day of 2011 my mind is on my children. It is just one example of not really knowing what God is going to do in their lives. But isn’t that the way it is for all of us? In every area of our lives? We just really don’t know what He is up to and what He has in store for us.

The truth is that we can make all the plans we want, like my son’s plans to attend Gateway Technical College, but really…it all comes down to fulfilling the destiny that God has for us. Our ways are not necessarily His ways.

I can help my son fill out his college applications and figure out the path he needs to take in order to become an airline pilot but unless these plans are submitted to God, they won’t mean as much.

So go ahead and make out your New Year’s Resolutions and set your goals for 2011. But as you do, ask the Lord to guide you in this. Ask Him to show you what He would have you do. Remember to Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans (Proverbs 16:3).