Tuesday's Child: Plan Ahead Much?

Yep. That’s me all over. Anyone who has gone anyplace at all with me knows that I want every conceivable detail in advance so that I can be prepared for whatever might come up.

Just yesterday I messaged several other women who will be at next weekend’s Pacific Southwest Regional Clergy Gathering to find out what they are going to be wearing, what we are supposed to bring with us, and if they knew whether there would be WIFI or 3G availability at the event location. I was particularly concerned about internet availability because we’ll be there on Tuesday. I blog on Tuesdays (obviously) and while I can pre-post something for next week I was really hoping to be able to blog and tweet from the Gathering because Sharon Watkins will be with us. There could be truly amazing spiritual words of wisdom falling from her lips and I want to be able share them with everyone who reads the Intersection or follows me on Twitter. Aside from the internet uncertainty, however, I’m nearly ready to go. My lists of what to do before I leave and what to take with me are complete. My suitcase is almost packed. I have directions programmed into my iPhone so I shouldn’t get lost on the way there.

Yep. That’s me all over. Plan everything in advance and in detail. Heaven knows I don’t want to find myself away from home without a critically important something or other. There are, of course, a couple of things wrong with this.

One is that I’ve been so busy worrying about next week’s blog post that I almost forgot to do one for this week. I’ve found that when I spend too much time focusing on the future I tend to neglect the present. Future plans are important but if I neglect the now I could miss out on something truly special.

The other is the point of that skit I mentioned at the beginning. Peter asks one question after another trying to get details about their trip. Jesus responds, “Come with me. Just you, by yourself, with no luggage and no idea of where we are going or who will be there. Just come.” Peter didn’t know it but he was about to embark upon a journey that would change his life and the world. No amount of planning could possibly prepare him for what was to come.

No matter how many plans we make or how hard we work to prepare for every eventuality the fact is that we don’t know what the future has in store. We don’t know who else will be part of our journey or even where we will end up. What we do know is that whether we are on that journey alone or as a congregation or even as a denomination, as long as we follow when Jesus calls something amazing is sure to happen.