Success!

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." Proverbs 19:21

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I enjoy arts and crafts .....look in my closet and you will see numerous projects in various stages of completion.  Some have been there longer than others but they will all eventually be completed. The good things  about that are, I always have something enjoyable to work on and because my interests are varied, I'm always attempting to learn a new skill. On the other hand, not all my projects come out as they are intended because I've either lost the directions because its been so long since I worked on the project....or I'm too impatient to follow the directions correctly.

I'm the type of person who is always eager to learn new things and my mind is always racing with ideas. The problem is once I've implemented a plan...basically gotten things started....I'm ready to had the supervision over to someone else and move on to the next idea. Not a good habit to cultivate. And I realize that so I'm trying to change that part of my personality.

Instead of jumping into a project with both feet because it looks like fun......I'm determined to weigh the pros and cons.....decide if it is an idea that benefits others as well as myself......and make sure I'm willing to spend the time necessary to complete the project. The very first thing I'll do though is to pray about it.

That is the most important change in my approach to life. Short 30 second prayers were the way I handled things.  My painful metamorphosis this summer has shown me that prayer really should be without ceasing.....a constant dialogue with God so that He can keep me on the right track. If nothing else, the change in the way I approach prayer has changed how I approach others things in my life.

"Many are the plans in the mind of man" or woman in my case.  But my plans are secondary to the purpose of God. Prayer is teaching me to be patient....to talk to God about my ideas.  My plans may sound brilliant to me but if they don't line up with what God's purpose is for me then they aren't worth the energy.  Sometimes my plans and God's purpose do line up and when that happens...wow! Things are amazing!  But sometimes they don't....and God helps me see that.....and usually I say to myself...."what was I thinking?" 

God wants His children to succeed and that is part of His purpose for us.  We just have to remind ourselves that God's idea of success and the world's idea of success are different.  As for myself.....I choose the "perfect" success God has planned for me no matter what shape it takes.