{"id":499,"date":"2020-05-11T12:25:37","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T12:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/?p=499"},"modified":"2020-05-19T10:32:55","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T10:32:55","slug":"proverbs-169","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/2020\/05\/11\/proverbs-169\/","title":{"rendered":"Proverbs 16:9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reflection by Joanne Wallace, Pastoral Associate at St. Marie’s and St. Bernadette’s and St. Teresa’s, Upholland Pastoral Area<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When I was a Secondary school English teacher, I often taught \u2018Of Mice and Men\u2019 by John Steinbeck.  Naturally, at some point, the title of the book had to be explained; the title refers to the phrase \u2018The best-laid plans of mice and men\u202foften go awry\u2019. This phrase itself is adapted from a line in \u201cTo a Mouse,\u201d by Robert Burns: \u201cThe best laid schemes\u202fo’\u202fmice\u202fan’\u202fmen\u202f\/ Gang aft a-gley<\/em>.\u201d Regardless of the adaptation of the phrase, the sentiment is the same that no matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong with it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No doubt, we all had plans for this month, potentially this year, that are on hold or have had to be abandoned for the foreseeable future  The uncertainty that COVID-19 has brought to our lives is unsettling and there are sadly many families who have had their lives turned upside down by the loss of a loved one and all the hopes for a future with them in it.  It is a reminder that we are not invincible \u2013 we do not determine our path, God does.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it seems trivial in comparison, even my \u2018best-laid plans\u2019 of getting work done at home with 3 children in the house often go awry.  I allow myself to get frustrated at the mess in the house, the work that I want to get done but can\u2019t quite get on top of, the dishes that are piling up, the washing that needs doing, the garden that needs doing\u2026 When I set myself challenges for the day, but then it doesn\u2019t go as planned, then I can feel like a failure.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, what I need is a change of perspective. I\u2019m here. I\u2019m well. My family is well. I am in a safe environment and I can still work \u2013 even if differently.  I need to confide in the Lord more and let Him bring me to where I need to be that day. I need to allow the Lord to establish my steps each day and be thankful for each one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are not in control of our plans. Sometimes we need to let go and trust in the Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,14,15,16],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-prayer","category-family-resources","category-god-in-our-time","category-reflection","tag-spirituality-in-the-home"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pile-of-washing.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":540,"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499\/revisions\/540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}