Plan B (or C or D, etc)

I just discovered an NPR show that I think I'm going to really like. It's called This American Life. They take a theme and contributors tell stories that relate somehow or another to the topic. The host, Ira Glass usually talks really fast then has long pauses in between sentences. It's a little disconcerting at times. I subscribed to the podcast and I'm happy it's just a once a week podcast because I'd fall behind really fast if it wasn't.

The topic this week was called Plan B, about what ends up happening when our first plan doesn't work out the way it's supposed to. There were a couple of interesting stories, especially the one about the wannabe actor who ends up a professional partier and the guy who discovers to his dismay what he's best at is being a telemarketer.

Inevitably, I guess, this got me thinking about my own life. I can't say I'm on plan B, but rather at least plan C, probably further along than that. Throughout high school, college, the interim time between HSU and Kstan, Kstan, the interim time between Kstan and seminary, New York, and even the first part of my time in Tennessee the ministry was what I wanted to do and some where along the way, it was all about being overseas. However since I got from Kstan, especially, I kept getting sidetracked by like. I've enjoyed most (I stress most) of what I've been involved in, All Church Home, teaching, New York, C C, but am I satisfied with where I am? And if I'm not, what exactly do I need to do?

One of my greatest faults is constantly regretting the past. Did I chose the right major? Was I right to transfer to Lewisville HS my sophomore year? Why didn't keep up my Spanish? Was HSU the right call for me? Why didn't I extend my time in Kstan after my two years were up? I could go on and on. It's stupid, I know, but I often wonder what might have been. How does this match up with God's will? I can't believe, oh, God really wanted me do this specific thing and since I didn't do it exactly right, then I'm so far off track that I would need a souped up DeLorean to get it right. But at the same time, like the telemarketer in This American Life, I wonder about plan B. Is this really what God wants with us? To settle for something less than what we dreamed of doing?

I was wracking my brain trying to think of the classic plan B guy from the Bible. There's no question, it's Moses. I picture him sitting on a hill side in Sinai tending his father-in-law's sheep as a 40 year old, thinking "what in the heck happened?" Then a freaking burning bush gave him a new mission, one that had been in his head way back in Egypt, saving God's people. By this point, he didn't think he had anything close to what it took to lead those people. On the contrary, he had two things that would be invaluable. One, he knew the land. As a shepherd he knew everything about the whole area. Secondly, he knew how to rely on God. Moses probably thought he was finished, passed by by life. But God knew that he was finally ready to do what had been put before him.