I’ve got my calendar out, and I’m plugging away on the rest of the year.

So far, I’ve entered summer volleyball playdates, the fall varsity football and volleyball schedules, my doctor and dentist appointments, the dog’s vet appointment, and the football schedule for the University of Alabama.

Roll Tide.

I’ve also marked off the holidays and other pertinent dates for the school calendar, for my own work purposes and to keep up with Youngest Daughter’s scholastic pursuits.

I’ve asked Oldest Daughter about her coming senior year of her university education: does she have any deadlines for graduation or the BFA program?

She has always taken care of her obligations, but I will hold them in my mind too.

Don’t mothers carry the calendar of the entire family in our back pockets?

Oh, and vacation is scheduled for the end of July.

And wouldn’t a fall trip to the beach be wonderful? October makes a fine month to visit the Gulf. The summer heat and humidity will have dissipated, but it’s still warm enough to wear shorts and tank tops. 

A quick look at Airbnb wouldn’t hurt. Let’s see what places are available.

Then again, don’t I know how quickly plans can go to pot? 

A medical diagnosis requiring appointments, treatments, or surgery will screw up your plans pretty quickly. So will an accident, a flat tire, or a child’s call in the middle of the night: “Mommy, my belly hurts . . .” and the rest of the evening is spent with your little one on the bathroom floor or in their bedroom holding a puke bowl. 

Maybe the grass is high and you just started cutting it, but lucky you, you hit some unknown object and broke a blade on your lawnmower.

Your kitchen stinks like old shrimp and soured dish towels because you’ve been home only long enough to sleep for the past four days, but you’re finally ready to wash the dried and crusty dishes and take out the garbage. But what’s this water doing under the sink? It’s puddled up under your cleaning supplies and stash of 200 or so plastic Wal-Mart bags that you intend to reuse or recycle, but it looks like you’re clearing them out tonight because you’ve got a leak.

How many of us have jobs that don’t run according to a set schedule?

During my years of being a principal, the best part of my day was the morning, if I could get to work early enough, to have a few quiet moments to collect my thoughts and prioritize my list for the day.

Then the students and teachers would arrive, and before you could say, “Go Tigers,” it would be well after the final bell had rung in the afternoon before I could sit down to eat my lunch.

Sweet Husband’s job also requires him to be flexible with his planning. The installation of telecommunication systems requires the on-time arrival of parts and pieces or else risk a delay in project completion. Renovations and new constructions also require the cooperation of several different subcontractors, who all have their own work schedules.

He should have invested in the Goody headache powder company a long time ago. 

Making plans gives us a sense of control over our lives. When we have to adjust due to any number of circumstances, it can throw us into a tailspin.

But we are not even guaranteed tomorrow:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”–yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

James 4:13

May we always remember that, despite our own planning, God knows what will happen. We must trust that He will see us and our loved ones through the hard days of failed plans, for He has our best interests at heart.

During crazy days, easy days, normal days, and bad days, may we hold to the truths found in Proverbs:

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.

Proverbs 16:3

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The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

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Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21

Maybe I need to write those verses on my calendar too.

So now, let’s see . . . how about that beach trip?

But October is prime time for hurricanes, and according to the NOAA there’s a 60% chance of an above-normal season. 

I think I’ll wait on making those reservations.