the Ultimate Life Coach

I have this neighbor. Her body is 72, but her soul is much younger. I learned this about her when I spent some time with her over the holidays. I was at her house, helping her to wrap Christmas gifts for her grandchildren, when she told me she'd like to be a life coach. Well, actually, she started by telling me about some of her crazier online dating experiences on seniorpeoplemeet.com, and how some of the men she met "really needed to get it together." THEN she told me she should be a life coach. And I laughed. Not because of her stories (although those were a hoot), but because of the absurdity of the idea of a life coach. What does a life coach even do? Help you plan your future? I can't even decide what to have for breakfast . . . if someone was always popping up, asking about where I see myself in ten years, I'd just about lose my mind.

But then, my neighbor, and new found friend, looked me in the eyes and laid down some truth. "Clare," she started, "life is what happens when you're busy making plans."

Okay, what in the world, Marsha?! We were just laughing about balding men making fools of themselves over coffee, and now you're speaking directly to my soul? And right then and there, I became her first life coaching client.

I'm kidding. Kind of. But let's get serious: she is so right.

Now, before we get too far into this discussion (okay, monologue) about making life plans, I want to tell you something that I've come to believe.

God has a sense of humor.

I mean, I was voted best sense of humor in my 8th grade mock elections, and I was created in His image . . . (Sorry, I will actually use any excuse to work that into conversation).

I think God laughs. And I think God laughs at us and at our plans. The same way we chuckle at a movie character who is positive she will end up with the guy, even though we know he's in love with someone else. And we laugh in the "bless her heart" or "keep trying, Sister" kind of way because we can see the bigger picture, and we know the ending, and man, oh, man, is she off.

If you've never watched a movie with me, first of all, you're one of the lucky ones. You should probably keep it that way forever. I'm a movie talker. And a yeller, and a screamer, and a crier. Because WHY DON'T THEY KNOW THAT IF THEY LEAVE THE PARTY ALONE AT NIGHT WHILE THERE IS A SERIAL KILLER AT LARGE, THEY GON' DIE TODAY?

I imagine this is how God sees us sometimes: as these silly little characters in this movie called Life who just really don't have a clue. Profound, I know.

There are different kinds of plans, of course. If we never made any plans, we'd all be elusive, mysterious, non-committal weirdos. If we didn't plan to meet with friends, we just wouldn't have them. If we didn't plan to budget our money, well, we'd probably be broke (although some of us are already there, thank you very much). If we didn't plan a wedding, we wouldn't have pictures to look back on, and a group of people we love surrounding us to celebrate a special day.

But these aren't the plans I'm talking about. I'm talking about the kinds of plans that we hold so tightly, we don't have a free hand to grab the better plan God has put RIGHT in front of us. Like when we plan to live in the same town we grew up in forever, because it feels safe and familiar, but God is calling us somewhere new. Or when we plan to graduate in four years flat, no excuse, but God has revealed a new passion causing a change of major during our third year. Or when we plan for a future with someone who doesn't better us for His cause, because we're afraid to be alone. These are the plans that are hardest to let go of, because doesn't God know it's too scary for us to trust Him with these things?!

Each day, we get a choice. We can hold tightly to the plans we've made for ourselves, or we can believe that our God is worthy of our trust and that His plan is BETTER. Let's empty our hands of the plans that no longer serve to grow us or further His Kingdom.

Choose to let go with me today, friends.