Perfectly Placed

My daughter recently auditioned for the first time.

She wanted a part in a summer musical camp.

She had her heart set on the one of the two lead characters

We are new in town and just getting to know people here.

I wasn’t sure people who didn’t know her would give her a chance.

I practiced with her a bit.

She couldn’t wait.

She just knew she would get the part.

How do you prepare a child who has her heart set on something that she might not get it?

I didn’t want to get her hopes up, but I also wanted to balance that with letting her know that I believed in her ability to do well.

We climbed in the car to head to the audition.

My bubbly, blond girl was smiling from ear to ear.

“Honey, would it be okay if I pray with you about the audition?”

“Sure, Mom.”, she quickly replied.

“Dear Father,
Thank you for my sweet girl. She is a gift to me and to this world. Father, I ask that you place her right where she should be. If that’s the lead, that’s okay with us, but if you have something else in mind, we trust that you will perfectly place her. You have something special planned for her in this experience. Help her to give of her talents and serve you and others well. Amen”

When I picked her up from auditions, I asked her how it went.

I guess I asked a few too many questions.

“Come on, Mom, it’s not like it’s American Idol!
It was fun. We read our parts in groups.”

Later that evening, the phone rang.

The call she had been waiting for had come.

She got her first part.

Not the one she expected.

She will play another part.

Sassy Swag Saturn.

Somehow that fits her just right.

My bouncy girl playing a planet that never stops moving.

Yep, that’s her.

She can’t wait to start.

Do I have the same attitude when I don’t get what I expect?

I’m perfectly placed, too.

I must remember that.

It’s tough when I have prayed about something specific and it doesn’t happen the way I want it to or it just doesn’t happen at all!

I remember walking with a friend one day.

She suddenly stopped, looked me in the eye and said, “You know what I love about you?

Not one thing you planned in your life has turned out the way you have planned it, but you are full of joy anyway.”

I hadn’t realized that until she said it.

Nothing had gone the way I planned.

Weird.

Isn’t life about making goals and achieving them?

If you asked me what I wanted in my life when I was younger, my answers would have been filled with “nevers”.

Almost every one of those “nevers” has happened.

The strange thing about my plans versus God’s plans for me, is that I’ve never been happier.

He has always given me what’s best even when it looked scary or unpleasant.

When I said, “No”, He said “Yes”.

I am learning to never say never.

I am learning to follow this God of the unexpected.

Because of Him, because of this life He has given me, I’m finding joy in the unexpected everyday.

A little added bonus to the blog today:

I found this when I was looking up pictures for Saturn. Children bring us so much joy!

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