When you think there is no plan

This past week was a tough one, and I let myself fall into the slime far more than was fun. How wonderful to feel God's restoration every time I remembered to turn back to his word, or heard encouragement from a friend.

You may be looking at chaos in your own life, and you may not see a plan at work right now--or at least not one you like. Our hearts long to make sense out of the disorder in our lives, for life to be fair and right.  In spite of everything, life is frequently messy and unfair, no matter how hard we try to control it.

But our God does have a plan, and no matter how things look at the moment, this is a part of the larger picture.

In 1931, my grandfather, Clifford Clinton, had a wife and three young children. He had just been fired from his own father's business by two men who should have had no right to fire him. Clifford had a vision, however. He felt called to run a cafeteria based on the principles of the Golden Rule. He also believed he could honor God by feeding people in need and running an honest business.

Clifford spent many years of his childhood seeing starvation in China, in the beginning of the twentieth century, and he was never the same. He resolved to fight it any way he could, including through his business. But here he was, in the height of the Depression, surrounded by hungry and unemployed people.

His policy was never to turn away a customer who could not pay for a meal. He trusted that God would somehow provide for him and his employees.

My grandfather later wrote letters, remembering those hard times, which our family has kept. As I read them, he talked about turning to God for direction, and seeing God's hand at work to bring in supplies at reduced cost, and miraculous provisions to keep his business running.  One of his early customers was a bankruptcy judge who told him he'd expected to see him within the first year!

While Clifford did not make any cash profit in his early years, he was able to keep his doors open, pay his employees, and provide four million meals for people who could not pay.

Remember Who holds your future, and Who guides your plan, no matter how today looks.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11