Oh...the mystery and ways of the plans of the Lord!

This past week has been a testimony of this Proverb:

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the Lord's purpose that will stand firm and remain."

Proverbs 19:21

Years ago, I had made a promise to my girls (my youngest in particular) that I would take them to the "land of Anne of Green Gables."

In fact, Mandy and I made plans.

Sort of.

We had plane tickets from miles I had banked with United all the way to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI).

We had a place to stay with people I had met one time, way back when we were with Athletes in Action, and did a week tour in Washington D.C.

But, really other than just arrive, we didn't have a detailed plan...
The trip would have been one of those sit-around-and-discuss-exactly-what-should-we-do-today kind of trips...

We showed up at the airport in Phoenix, ready to go...except that a mere two weeks before, the airlines had begun requiring a passport to go to Canada. No longer did a simple driver's license suffice. The crazy thing is I had just been to Canada within the month, and my driver's license worked just fine.

So, there I stood at the counter in Phoenix - naked!

Well, not really naked in the full sense of the word, but without proper documentation, and Canada wouldn't have me.

The agent said, "You can try to go if you want to, but I am pretty sure that once you get to Halifax, they will send you back to the US."

I wasn't willing to take that risk...not with my daughter along.

So instead of going to PEI, we only got as far as Pei Wei for lunch.

My girl was deeply bummed.

Me...I was mortified!  😡

But, indeed, the Lord had other plans.

Fast forward...what seemed like a kazillion years.

Both girls are older.

Both have families.

Jobs.

Lives (which take place too far away from their mother).

But...the timing was just soooooo much better.

The being-together-part was so much sweeter.

We laughed...A LOT.

We had a plan...and knew where and what we were doing each day, yet flexible enough to add things as they came up.
I had made new friends, who blessed us beyond measure (and I had lost absolute touch with the other folks I sort of knew).

Because we were older, more thoughtful, even more desirous to soak in all things L.M. Montgomery, including the country-side, we appreciated EVERY LITTLE DETAIL.
It was perfect.

The thought crossed my mind, multiple times, my God is a way better boss of my schedule.
His agenda is far better.
I may not fully understand His timing all the time, but there is this principle I've seen many times over that centers around "In the fullness of time, God responds;" and, the TIME IS FULL INDEED!