“Most plans are just inaccurate predictions.” Ben Bayol
Seven hours. That’s how long we were without power in my house yesterday. Two days before that we lost power for over three hours. And so it goes. Ours, however, is one of the fortunate households. We now have an inverter that gives us power enough to keep some fans and lights working, but our stove, water, washing machine, refrigerator, microwave, etc. are lifeless when the power disappears. Living in the Dominican Republic these past five months has taught me a variety of things, but flexibility and holding my plans loosely top the list. Will I get laundry done today? I’m not sure. Will the casserole I popped into the oven cook? Perhaps not.
I look around me at the ebb and flow of life here and others don’t seem to be particularly put out by the inconvenience of the unpredictability of it. Down the street from us, for example, laundry can often be found strewn over barbed wire fences to dry and many times I see it later, drenched from a sneaky rain cloud. That's just the way it goes and it doesn't seem to ruin anyone's day, no matter the economic class. One night, while at a restaurant with friends and, after paying the bill and getting up to leave, the power went out and the place went dark. No screams or gasps came from the full dining room of people. Some diners whipped out their cell phones for a bit of light. Waiters scrambled briefly and produced lighters and the evening meal, from what I could see, resumed. I held on to my husband as we each stretched a hand out in front of us and groped our way out the door and into our car, shaking our heads in disbelief and laughing nervously!
Losing power on a somewhat frequent basis as well as people showing up an hour or two late for dinner (“Dominican Time”), and arriving with extra people I didn’t know were coming, and putting clothes on the line only to have them become drenched by an unexpected thunderstorm, and having random “No School Days” because of city-wide strikes are all things God is using in my life to help me go with the flow and trust Him with my day and my “to-do” list. I admit this isn’t easy for me. I’m a planner and these mundane challenges take a toll some days, but God is using them to chisel away some rough spots in need of mellowing. I need to give my day, my plans, to the Lord and bend to what He allows, trusting that God is in control and He loves me. There’s really no better way to live.
“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21
