Perfect Timing!

The day was planned! From 6 to 6 everything was going to run smoothly. After that the Christmas program would begin and I could sit back and relax and enjoy the music and the children's voices. This was to be the day of several "firsts" for me. I was to be the primary caregiver and preparer of my youngest grand daughter for the program. The dress was ready, the boots to go with it and everything else was good to go. The early morning hours we spent gathering the laundry and taking the phone calls as they came in. We had great snacks(last night I baked cookies for the fellowship time to follow the program). We ate a healthy lunch in between trips to the "laundry place"(that's what Kyra calls it)and the first two loads were in the dryer while she was being delivered to preschool. Everything was on time and going according to schedule. Sheets fluffed, bathtub ready for a 4 pm dunk for her while I would jump in the shower and clean up. The fuel gauge 'puter thing in the car said I had low mileage range so I paused to fill up at a station on the way home from picking her up at preschool. No problem there! I used a credit card and didn't even go inside. That's when the phone rang. Eldest grandson had detention and needed a ride. I called for reinforcements to keep the schedule happening(his school is 20 miles from us on the Great American Desert)and that was my first inkling that God was taking control of the day. I'm not always quick to accept such things when I've got a plan, but there was no choice. On the drive over Kyra napped, I called a few people and explained my situation(first was my wife). Needless to say, my plan was shot. Here we are at the end of the day and I'm busy thanking God for having a "better" plan than I had(I could never have gotten Kyra's hari to look so cute), and chiding myself for my immediate hesitancy to accept it. Cheryl took two hours vacation time and rushed home to assist in the getting ready. Matt had a wonderful array of snacks and pop while he paused before going to his youth gathering this evening. Kyra was beautifully ready, on time, and my nerves were as shot as my plan. I guess I should have known that it is far better to accept God's plan for the perfect day than to stubbornly insist on doing things my own way. I was better this time than I have been in the past, and I pray that in the future I'll have learned something very profitable from today's experience and keep it in mind the next time I think I've got everything down to "perfect timing." So often we have our thoughts on how things are supposed to go, and we really do get hard headed about it and make things a mess when we try to keep to our schedules. Today was not one of those times for me, and in the future, Lord, I'll be a better listener. In Christ's Love, Preacher.