God always amazes me when He changes my plans. Time and time again, my plans are changed, and He shows up supernaturally. It happens to all of us. He has a way of nudging our disappointment of changed plans aside and opening our eyes to His amazing grace.
I left on a 7-day trip last Friday. My travels were to take me to Iowa to lead a retreat with the New London Christian Church leadership team. The focus was becoming more of a disciple-making church. The retreat covered Friday evening and Saturday morning. I was then scheduled to fly to Denver Saturday afternoon and attend a conference at Estes Park, Colorado. On my way to Iowa on Friday, I learned that the Estes Park conference had been canceled because of the massive flooding in Colorado. I was disappointed. Many of my friends were attending the conference, and I had been scheduled to share briefly what I have been learning about coaching.
As I discussed my options with Delta Airlines, I discovered the cheapest option was to continue to Colorado on Saturday and fly home to Michigan on Sunday afternoon. I had planned to stay with Graydon and Judy Jessup in Lafayette Saturday and Sunday evenings and head to the conference with Graydon on Monday. Graydon encouraged me to come to Colorado and spend Saturday evening with them. He would pick me up Saturday evening from the Denver airport and deliver me back to the airport on Sunday afternoon to catch my flight home. So the plans were changed, and I was simply looking forward to returning home.
God rocked my world with what He did at the retreat in Iowa with the New London Christian Church leadership. It was so amazing, and He was totally responsible for what took place.
Graydon picked me up from the airport Saturday evening, and I enjoyed some great fellowship with him and Judy. He is on staff part time at Boulder Valley Christian Church, so we attended there Sunday morning.
I was blessed beyond words to worship with the folks at Boulder Valley Christian Church Sunday morning. Several families were flood victims. Matt Carlson, the lead minister, focused his speaking on sorting out what had transpired the last few days, what the church had been doing to help the flood victims in Boulder, and what opportunities the church has now to help.
Matt shared several stories. One included a fifth grader who was in attendance at the service. She was at a public school event for fifth graders at a camp. The floods had washed out the road to the camp, and she had to be rescued by a helicopter. The church had purchased three water pumps from a flooded equipment store on Thursday morning for $500. Some men from the church had been using the pumps to help people with flooded basements. A nursing home with 400 residents had been flooded and evacuated. Several folks from the church volunteered to help with the clean up Sunday afternoon. The church building had sustained some damage from the rain, but it was minor compared to what families throughout the Boulder community were experiencing. The people in the service were encouraged to open up their homes to people who have been forced to evacuate their homes. It was a very community-focused time, and I saw the Church in action loving her community. I listened to a woman at the service explain to Graydon that her basement was flooded and that the evacuation order for her neighborhood had been lifted. At the end of the service, she learned that the evacuation order was back in force because it was raining again. She was fighting back the tears.
During the service, four adults were baptized, including a husband, wife, and the wife’s sister. It was simply powerful!
As the worship team led us in the final set of worship songs, we sang the chorus to “Still” a couple times. It contains these words:
“I will soar with you above the storm.
Father you are king over the flood.
And I will be still, know you are God.”
It was impossible to fight back the tears then and now.
I arrived home last evening, and I am still sorting out the events of the last three days. Above and beyond everything else, I have sensed the gentle whisper of God’s voice, “When I change your plans, watch Me move supernaturally.” He is the Lord God Almighty, and He is in charge of my plans!
Amazing! God changing our plans usually frustrates us, what if we see HIS will and watch HIM work.
Merry Christian Dean and Bonnie. I enjoyed hearing what God is doing. I enjoyed the calling journey class. I was encouraged on how God can use my experiences, training, and who He created me to be in a way that uses my strengths and gifts minus my striving which has exhausted me. Thank you for surrendering to God’s plan so you could teach us. Diana