"When Good Plans Don't Work Out"...

Looking at the title of this post, you may think that it would be on my leather couch fail...or my shampoo-less hair, not that it's failed yet...but NOPE, this is about real, nitty-gritty, painful-happy LIFE.


I have a great friend, who happens to live super close and have boys the same age as mine that adore spending time with each other(in fact I'm listening to them play/fight as I write)...we also spend a LOT of time together talking about plans, failed plans, new plans...ya know. 


She has been going through something, a happy, yet nerve-racking, something that is finally turning out well for her...and it got us talking about the Lord's timing, his all-knowing and perfect timing when it comes to our lives. 


Although what I'm going through is a totally different situation from hers, it is the same. We have been planning, hoping, praying, listening to inspiration...and following. 


BUT....what happens when "Good plans don't work out"? Or in my situation, GREAT plans:)


My friend had directed me to this great article in this months Ensign, with that title. 


It was SO perfect for me, exactly what I needed to hear. 


It follows the experiences of 4 different people and what they went through after having received an answer to pray, and then the end-goal not "working out"...or at least not in the way that they had expected in the first place. 


It reads:


"No one likes having to resort to "plan B". But even when our plans fall through, Heavenly Father does not abandon His children. There are multiple good ways for life to work out. In time, we may even find that the roadblocks that changed our plans gave us needed insight and experience (D & C 122:7) and led to something better."


One of the individuals explains their feelings about their failed plans..."I learned something from his example[the Apostle Paul]: the period of waiting is not merely the process that we must go through to get what we want. Rather, it is a process by which we become who our Heavenly Father wants us to be through changes we make."


 This is what I've been needing to hear...yes, I may have gotten a confirmation of what I thought was the right plan for us...and I know there was a reason for us in doing that...but I hadn't figured out what it was I was supposed to be learning throughout this long journey of waiting and wanting and waiting some more. 


That's it!! I was learning...and I was growing...I was becoming a better person, a better mother, a better sister, a better daughter. 


"Being patient is one of my hardest trials because I want to understand my entire plan-but I realized that Heavenly Fathers plan and timing for us will always be the best".


One of the men talked about in this article does end up having his plans work out, completely differently than he expected, and years later...and he says: "It is a testimony to me that the Lord is waiting to bless us, but it's always on His timetable."


"Regardless of the turns life's journey may take, the final destination of eternal life is what Heavenly Father plans for His children. Some may even find that "plan B" was simply away of making His "plan A" a reality."


I realized that I am still on "Plan A", I've always been on "Plan A", and with the help of the Lord, and following inspirations I can make sure that I am always on His plan...I just need to remember that His timing, and His plan is always what is best for me, even if I don't see it at the time. 


Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (The best is yet to come): 
"We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that 
   faith is always pointed toward the future."