Insha'Allah

It is a Muslim tradition to use the term "Insha'Allah" any time one talks about future plans. The words mean "God-willing" or "if it is God's will". The Qur'an instructs Muslims to always consider the will of God when they make plans for their lives because they need to recognize that God's will trumps any of their ideas about how their lives should unfold. By saying "Insha'Allah" on a regular basis, Muslims remind themselves of God's role in their lives.

While we Christians do not always explicitly state that our plans are subject to God's will, we too need to be reminded that that's the case. In his epistle, the apostle James wrote, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' "(James 4:13–15)

I get reminded of this fact frequently. Every time I think I know where my life is going and start to plan accordingly, I seem to get a surprise. Somewhere in this jumble of careers, homes, money, hobbies, and loved ones there is a master plan for my life, but I don't always know what it is. When I was a child, my plan was to live on the farm where I grew up forever. I wanted to buy or inherit it from my parents and live a long and happy life there. I didn't. We sold that farm my senior year in high school, and the new owners have transformed it into a different place. Later I had plans about marriage, family, and careers, but those plans haven't always worked out. My life is becoming radically different from what I might have imagined only a year ago.

These kinds of surprises upset a lot of people, but I'm getting used to them. It's not always so bad when my life deviates from my plans. Even things that feel like failures or disappointments at the time can turn into new paths that lead me in exciting directions I never imagined possible. I'm OK with change, and it's all right with me when my well-laid plans don't work out. I'm going to be fine because there IS a plan that's still in place—God's plan. I know He's looking out for me, even when it seems like my life is going haywire.

So tomorrow, if God wills, I will post another blog entry, go to work, ice skate, attend a rehearsal, and spend time with family members. With God's help I will go forth and explore the amazing array of possibilities that my life has to offer.