My Plans vs. God's Plans

Recently, with the help of my parents, I got myself signed back up at a community college in Sacramento for this upcoming Fall 2012 semester.  Before I left on my mission, I pretty much had every class in mind that I wanted to take and made detailed notes on them.  I brought out those plans over the last couple months and boy, have they sure changed... well, only slightly I suppose.

The biggest concern I had from the beginning was the challenge presented by my enrollment date.  Since I have been absent from the school system for two years, I was way down the line in getting priority picking rights.  Those with priority one registration began April 30th - my date wasn't until May 15th!  My worry only increased as I kept track of the classes and saw them fill up and close out.



The first few days into the enrollment process had me sweatin' pretty good but when I saw that the classes I wanted so bad weren't going to be an option, I didn't know what to do.  The classes and the schedule I wanted seemed so perfect!  Yet, most of them were unavailable now... all because I didn't receive priority picking rights.  I thought that by me giving two years of my life to the Lord I wouldn't have to worry or stress out about things like this. (Ah ha, that was the first mistake.)

I felt like my immediate future was now all up in the air and I bet you'd like to know why.  Well, want a good laugh?  There were some other factors connected to it, but to put it simply, my exaggerated anxiety was ALL OVER A FEW MATH CLASSES!  Now, I hope your thinking to yourself, "How ridiculous can this guy get?!", because that's what I ended up asking myself too.  I had my mind so set on how my schedule should have been that accepting anything else seemed totally out of the picture.  This is where God helped me.  He made it known to me that my plans needed changing.

Once I accepted that, the doors seemed to open all around me.  My mind was clear as I sat myself down and took my plans to the drawing board.  As I reviewed all the other classes I could take, I soon found myself excited to be considering things I had never before previously planned on.  I can relate that in a way to how I felt when I received my mission call.  I felt so sure that I'd be sent somewhere foreign on my mission and, as it turns out, I kinda did!  But it wasn't in the way I had planned or envisioned it to be.

I had built up so much pointless anxiety and exaggerated worry over something I had no control over!  I couldn't change my time for enrolling in classes, that's just how things had to be. I couldn't go and tell people not to enroll in a class just because I wanted a seat!  What I should have realized early on was that God was in control of things the whole time.  During the time that I opened my mind and heart to new ideas, I not only came out with a better schedule but also learned that I didn't need the math classes I thought I had needed for my future transfer to BYU. 

Looking back on all of this, nothing explains it better then this scripture:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8)

While my thoughts and ways may not be the Lord's, they can be.  I realize they are not always so right now, but all I need to do is just give it time, allow for change, take the Lord's hand when He's trying to lead me to something better, and everything will work out.  Things will be alright.  God's got a great plan for each of us because I know He's fulfilling one for me.