Wednesday, October 27, 2010

What if...things just aren't going as planned?

I just posted this on one of my other blogs, "What If...". 

http://whatifdotdotdot.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/what-if-things-just-arent-going-as-planned/

Well, my week progressed much better than it began last week.  (See the Part 1 post from last week for more on that)

My son’s health improved.

I drove safely to work in New Orleans.

I am now stopped for a break from driving for a few minutes while I am on my way back home from New Orleans.

I just finished a phone conversation with someone from work regarding the project we just launched this past week.  Seems to go along very well with this issue of planning not always panning out as hoped.

You see, I work with healthcare computer systems.

Myself and a couple of other co-workers recently developed and launched an innovative, cutting-edge computerized nursing documentation tool which intuitively guides nurses in more accurately assigning a stage (level) to a patient’s pressure ulcer.  They stage them in order to track their progression of healing or worsening as well as to know better how to treat the ulcer based on evidence proven to help in the healing process.

This new tool is so innovative and needed in this field that it has recently been presented in a national Wound Nurse Conference and has even more recently been awarded first place in our hospital’s annual nursing poster/project competition which was judged by an external panel of nursing school professors.

Now, with all of that said, there is no amount of planning and programming that can replace the human mind and its ability to make decisions.

Now that this tool is in use, we are finding some flaws in it, which we expected, but are also seeing errors based on poor judgment due to lack of knowledge.

My point?

We can guide and direct and suggest and even offer additional resources for accurate and informed decision-making, but ultimately the choice is up to the individual.

In spite of the thorough, extensive planning involved in this project, we cannot force people to make accurate decisions 100% of the time.

Life is very similar.

Our God has given us tools, evidence, support, direction, suggestions, and even examples from previous wrong choices made by individuals.

We, however, still often choose to go our own way, try out our own ideas, ignore the resources available to us, and just flat out refuse to trust the One who has a specific plan for us.

The difference here is that our God is not faulty in His planning and preparation and orchestration of the day-to-day events, big and small.  He is in no way weak or powerless in spite of the fact that we often choose to ignore His guidance.  Even that, He has a plan for.  He lets us choose our way, but He can and will intervene when necessary in order to work out His perfect will in our lives and for the sake of His glory.
Even if you’ve been ignoring and/or avoiding Him for a very long time, it is never too late.  His guidance is always there.  His Word is our Resource.  He will even send people along to help us understand things a bit better so that we can choose to make better decisions.  No matter how many bad decisions you or I have made, the next one can be the right one.

Don’t throw in the towel just because you’ve messed up in the past…even in the past few minutes.

Trust our Divine Planner, our Creator, our Father, our God.

Admit you don’t have it all figured out, and trust His guidance today!

16 comments:

Penny said...

So well said!!! Love this part especially, "Don’t throw in the towel just because you’ve messed up in the past…even in the past few minutes."

Let me know when you're in town again & we can meet for coffee!

Haelie said...

Thank so much, girl! It is sooo true, and often hinders so many from coming to God or coming back to Him. It did me for a long time.

LOVED visiting your church Sunday!!! Thanks so much for the invite! ;-)

Carolyn said...

Hi Haelie!

Such a beautiful post with God's truth! We can make our own choices...make our mistakes...but He is there to wipe the slate clean, dust us off ...if we are willing to give it all to Him to start over...what a loving Father we have!! He cares so much!!

Thank you for posting! :)
Hugs, Carolyn ~ Cottage Sunshine

Nikki (Sarah) said...

this is so true. So much of the time...I have no idea what to do and am grateful for Him...as my advisor and friend.

Virginia said...

Great post and so true.
Thanks for sharing….
Blessings,
Virginia

Sherry Southard said...

God is definitely in control. I love that about Him because when I mess up or when things go bad in my life, I know God has something better coming my way. I just have to wait and be patient. I love the scripture that says, "Man plans his way but God directs his feet." Praise God. We are a mess without His direction.

Charlotte said...

What an insightful interesting post. I'm glad God lets us chose and didn't just make a bunch of robots. It is a shame that more people don't make better choices though.
Thank you for sharing.
Blessings,
Charlotte

misterp said...

Mrs. Haelie you continue to bring great truths of God,s word in your every day life to show and help others in there daily lives. I thank you for your insight an comments for they continue to be great reminders of God's amazing love for His children. I am also glad to see that things turned around for you, and always hope and Pray that things go well for you.

Annesphamily said...

What a terrific post. I am so glad that you wrote this. I need so much encouragement and here it is today. Thank you. Anne

Haelie said...

Thank you all so much for stopping by and sharing your heartfelt thoughts that were inspired through this post. For those who came via Spiritual Sundays - bless you! I love popping into SS as often as I can and reading as many of your uplifting and inspirational posts. And to you, MisterP, thank you again for so faithfully coming here, reading, and sharing your heart. You are all special friends and family in the Lord.

Haelie said...

Anne, you just posted your comment as I was posting mine. God had us here together at the same time. :o) So glad He led you here to be encouraged by the things He has been teaching me. I will be praying for even more encouragement to come your way.

Cathy said...

Goodness, you did have a bad week there. Sometimes it just feels like too much, doesn't it. But we do have our God to help us through. You are very smart. Thank God for His wisdom. Blessings, my friend

Renee said...

Such an insightful post. God does have the best plan for our lives...sometimes it is just so hard to wait...or obey....We know though that if we do, blessings abound! God bless you and yours...I enjoyed this!
www.myautumnyears.blogspot.com

Kaye Swain - SandwichINK for the Sandwich Generation said...

Excellent points and very interesting devotional. As a caregiver, we also sometimes have to deal with loved ones choosing to do things different than they should. It's frustrating, but even there, we can trust in God to oversee it all and know that He is STILL at work in that situation - working it for the good of those who love Him. Very encouraging! :)

Anonymous said...

Haelie,

I love how the Bible says that God will meet us in the desert. No matter what desert we're living in, God's grace will grab us and draw us closer to Him -- We just have to thirst for Him!

Also, wanted to thank you for your article for the Sanctified Together Publication. I loved seeing how God wove together a beautiful insight just for you! Thank you for sharing it with us, and I pray your words touch the lives of many.

blessings to ya,

alisa

Haelie said...

Amen, Alisa! Thank you so much for stopping by! I love the new Sanctified Together Publication and am honored to have a piece in that tapestry.