Life doesn’t always go as we plan. From his kingly palace, David thought it not right for God to dwell in a simple tent. So he talked with Nathan, God’s prophet, and decided to build a more fitting dwelling place for the Lord (Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16). Nathan agreed but later discovered God had other ideas. So it was David’s son, Solomon, who built the Temple in Jerusalem. As we read in the bible, “God’s ways are not man’s ways.” (Isaiah 55:8)
Again in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26-38), we see the same idea. Mary’s plan to marry Joseph didn’t include children. She was going to remain a virgin and not become a mother. But God, again, had other ideas. Mary would remain a virgin but would also become a mother as well. Thankfully, Mary agreed to God’s proposal and became the mother of Jesus, the Church, and ourselves—which turned out wonderfully well for the world.
May God help us to discern when God’s plan calls for us to change our plans. And may we be just as agreeable as Mary was.
Fr. Carl
“To love God with our whole mind is to make the sacrifice to him of our knowledge and our reason, and to believe all that he has taught.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars
