Change of Plans

Many are the plans in a man's (woman's!) heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. ~Proverbs 19:21
I pray that today you will be sensitive to God's purpose - allowing Him to alter your plans according to HIS perfect will.

So said my Facebook status Monday morning.

I had no idea - as I prayed for my Facebook friends - that God would use that same prayer to soften my heart later in the day.

Monday afternoon I was sitting at home after work, talking with my daughter, when my phone rang. It was the program director at Cran-Hill Ranch, where I was scheduled to speak for a women's retreat this coming weekend. I imagined he must be calling to go over some final details.
Not so. Instead he said, "We had to make a hard decision today to cancel this weekend's retreat." He went on to give some explanation and I could tell from his voice, he was feeling very sorry to cancel the event.
And I would be lying if I said I was not twice as disappointed as he was sorry.
Oh, I have been sooooo looking forward to the retreat. Excited about the content; the hope I believed God was going to deliver; the opportunity to minister grace and peace. Yes. I have been living and breathing this retreat as I've prepared.
And now it was cancelled.

As I was letting that piece of information sink in, the program director made me an offer. Besides telling me he wants to have me come as the speaker for next year's retreat, he said I could still come to Cran-Hill this weekend if I wanted - to have a personal retreat.

HELLO!!!

If you know me at all, you know I didn't have to spend two seconds debating that offer.
I've already got the day off from work Friday. All the plans have been made for my family to survive without me for the weekend. Goodness, I even have next week's menu and grocery list ready to go. (My usual Sunday afternoon chore.) So there is nothing holding me back from fully enjoying time alone with the Lover of my soul.
Yes, I want to have the retreat! But I trust God knows a better time for it to happen. And, I am going to be speaking for a different women's retreat next weekend - which has NOT been cancelled - on the same topic. *grin* I realize that I don't see what He sees, nor do I know what He knows. So I am simply choosing to trust the change of plans.

Besides, as I consider all the plans which have gone into this coming weekend, it delights my heart to realize God's purpose was to get me alone with HIM.