My Disney Life in a Box

There are some things that I don't plan for. A loss of a job. A change of my plans. Needing to buy a new toilet because ours regularly overflows at least twice a week. Getting sick. Having to purchase a back door because ours gets stuck and refuses to open. Car repairs. My plans always seem so good and right ... exactly like things should be, you know? No catastrophes. No strange, last-minute items popping up. I wind up planning things like I'm living in a Disney fairy tale -- everything turns out "happily ever after" and I'm happy to get my way. The woodland creatures are singing (except for the mice -- no mice allowed) ... the stars are shining ... my hair, clothing and make-up are flawless ... and yay for me and my incredible planning. But it often (VERY often!) doesn't turn out like that. And it usually throws me for a loop until I'm reminded that ... (repeat with me, please!) -- "God's in control. He has a purpose. He loves me." Why in the world would I fight against that?!

But I do. A lot. Often. More than occasionally.

Just today something else happened that didn't go according to my plan. My concern was for the life of the person I had planned for (honestly!), and in all actuality, things turned out to be a huge mess. My first instinct was to get upset and pray for God to do things my way. I HAD thought all this through and this was definitely for the best ... right? And God reminds me that He's in control, He has a purpose, He loves me (and the person I'm praying so desperately for).

You see, I live in a box. It's quite a lovely box, thank you very much. But it's still a plain ole' cardboard box.There are sides with a top and a bottom that will close very nicely around me so I can be snug and content in my cramped space. And the box is set out in the middle of a huge, endless field with only the borderless sky as a ceiling.When I make my plans, I'm limited to what's in my teeny tiny box. That's all I can see. That's all my mind can imagine. My dreams and plans are small and ... box-like. And I tend to be content with that. I don't live alone, however. God's with me ... and He is waaaaaay bigger than my box. I'll make my small little plans and think they're so perfect in my tiny, boxed-in life ... and God will change my plans. Why? Because He's outside the box. He sees all of the potential, all of the growth, all of the ways it could be. Simply put, He knows what's best.

As long as I'm living here on earth, I'm somewhat limited to my tiny little box. But God, in His infinite grace and mercy, gives me glimpses of life beyond. And He reminds me that HE is not limited. God loves me too much to let me stay in my cardboard home. Rather than get upset when my dreams don't go according to what I've envisioned, I need to remember that I'm in the box ... God's not ... and yes, "He's in control. He's got a plan. He loves me."

So glad my God can't be put in a box.