It’s all in the planning (not)…

Hello friends and fellow bloggers. It has been a few weeks since I posted or caught up with your blogs. Hope all is well.

I have been away in the Canary Islands.

We planned a walking holiday to Gran Canaria and then a flight to Lanzarote to meet up with friends.

As you may know from reading my blog, the summer holiday did not go quite to plan. When I say “plan” I mean of course my plan! This one also did not go quite as planned. I’m definitely getting better though at this planning not planning stuff.

It all started when two weeks before we were due to depart the travel company called to inform us there were not enough people booked on our walking trip. The trip could not go ahead (even though it said it was guaranteed) – apparently guaranteed doesn’t mean guaranteed anymore (who knew!) but we could cancel and have a refund or re-arrange for the following week.

We had already booked our flight to Lanzarote for the following week and booked the accommodation so that wasn’t an option.

We cancelled the organised walking holiday but decided to DIY..

We found two different hotels with availability, booked a car and an unexpected blessing actually saved money booking them direct. No guide for the walking but we packed our walking gear and we could do it….

The weather was beautiful (unseasonably hot at 35 degrees) so sadly too hot for the walking routes we planned as the trails above 400m were closed because of the risk of forest fires.

Plan B…go walking around the shops, do some sightseeing, driving the island and eat food (lots of it).. in fact relax, relax and relax a bit more. Work has been insanely busy so just doing nothing much was just what I didn’t realise I needed..but then on our last day on the island the paths opened up and we were able to book a slot to walk to the Roque Nublo. They only allow so many hikers on the mountain a day. It was beautiful and worth the wait. We could look over and see the island of Tenerife and Mount Teide floating on the clouds like a mirage. I love mountains so was really happy to get this moment.

God is still teaching me about waiting. Sometimes I still really want to do something in ministry. I plan it, prepare for it and when I feel time is limited or running out will try to make it happen but the conditions and timing are not right. It doesn’t work out like I planned.

I’m learning to wait for God’s timing to open the way ahead and lead me on. Sometimes what I planned is not God’s plan so it’s a different route that opens to me..sometimes a bit more challenging and testing than I would have chosen, but it will be the right route for me because it was God who planned it.