Monday, March 25, 2013

a God plan...

Yep, we're back here again. Agendas...calendars...updates...meetings...

All good in theory. But remember...I'm in Italy.

And it's spring. Which means even the weather is fickle. Awesome.

This last weekend my "plan" was to go to Rome for an event bringing awareness to the global problem of human trafficking. The film Nefarious (here for more info: Nefarious Documentary) has been making a worldwide tour and had its final stop in Rome this weekend. A group of fellow artists had been working on a street drama to attract people before the three screenings that would be happening at a local theatre. I had been asked to be a part of this drama, as well dance in the theatre before each of the screenings. Incredible opportunity! I was stoked. I knew which dance I was doing, I had created a character for the drama, I had looked at train tickets and was about to buy them when I received the "WAIT!!!" In the enthusiasm I hadn't really stopped and asked if this was a God plan. Sure it was a good plan...I mean hello! Arts, human trafficking awareness, a train adventure to Rome...sweet deal. But, was it God's plan? Apparently not. As more information was revealed I realized that I would have been abandoning commitments here in the valley. Commitments that had CLEARLY been an answer to prayer upon coming here. Not that going to Rome would have been a bad thing...from what I have read, God absolutely rocked this weekend through this event! There were lots of hurdles that came up. One being a transportation strike on Friday and Saturday. Who knows if I would have been able to even get there!

God is teaching me a lot about asking Him first. It's so easy to become blinded by enthusiasm, a need to please, an inability to say "no;" we often miss that moment, or opportunity to commune with God and find out what He wants. We have His promise that what He has is better than what we could even imagine! Shouldn't that be reason enough to ask Him about everything? I mean...think about how much more rockin' that rockin' outfit would be if you asked God what to wear first. Ok, sure that may be a stretch, but also, why not make it that much of a practice in your life. So that every single decision you make comes from Him. He gave us these brains with which we make all of our plans, so shouldn't we include Him on them too?

I pray that we would no longer be blinded by enthusiasm and short-sightedness; busyness and fear, but that the one who gave us the freedom to choose and plan would be the consultant for it all.

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'"
James 4:13-15

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