Planning is Everything

My dad has a saying that has changed my life, how I look at life, and how I prepare for life. "Planning means everything, but 'The Plan' means nothing." I admit, that when dad first said this, it didn't ring with any meaning to my life. And then I had children.

I might try to arrive at the event on time, but when a child is in the plan, there is no plan; just planning. Preparation is the key to trying to do anything. Just having the desire is not enough. The planning is the action put into place to increase the odds of success. Even if that success is as simple as arriving on time.

It has been the planning that has taught me the most. I have to plan for the best outcome, knowing that the world will come at me with all its surprises and challenges and blessings and those plans change before I realize it.

This is never more true than in parenting, gardening and farming. There are many aspects of life that don't play by the rules, the top three of those being: children, weather, and animals. Even in areas of life that have very clear rules and expectations, The Plan can fall apart quickly. If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that expectations are not reliable. Life should be planned, but the plans we make are only the expectations, not the reality.

That is never more true than with gardening and farming. And parenting. We plant the seeds, care for them as best we can with the best materials we have, and pray. Then, as the seeds grow into seedlings and young plants, we tend, pray, wish, hope, toil, and pray some more. We prune back poor vines and fertilize the roots. We just do the best we can. The plan is well thought, put into place, and has a constant action behind it. And then we wait...

And wait...

And soon, the waiting reveals the success of our planning, the time and effort we have put forth, and even if the plan doesn't match the reality, because the planning never really ends, we find some kind of personal growth, education, and hopefully a victory.

Whatever it is in your life that you are 'planting the seeds' for, I pray that it is a blessing to others, an activity that uses your God-given talents, and brings about a greater you.

A tray of celery sprouts...a long wait for these babies to be fully mature!