When Plans Go Awry

     Have you ever had to change your plans because something unexpected came up?  I was talking to a lady at a retirement facility one day and she was telling me how she got there in the first place.  She said she was walking along the sidewalk at ther home, and slipped off the edge of the sidewalk causing her to break her ankle.  Her daughter told her that she could not live by herself any longer and the lady then said, "and here I am."  There are so many people who go through life until a sudden event takes place and your plans are changed forever.  There is a word that I don't use very much, which is, "awry."   We may say that our plans go awry.  It has the basic meaning of, "away from the appropriate, planned, or expected course; amiss."  When was the last time that your plans were suddenly changed?   James 4:14-15 says, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that."   
     James reminds us that we don't know what the next breath or even the next heartbeat may hold for us.  James says that our lives can be compared to a vapor.  I recently purchased an oil diffuser to use in our home.  The water is put in and a couple of drops of oil and you turn it on.  The vapor comes out instantly and travels about 12 inches until it disappears.  It's gone forever.  James has described our lives as a vapor and that it appears only for a little time and then vanishes away.  He then goes on to say what we should think and say in regard to our plans.  The four words mentioned are, "If the Lord will..."  Everything in regard to your next heartbeat and breath are dependent upon God.  Oh, we don't think about it and instead come up with all of the things we are going to do.  We can write them down on a "to do" list on the computer or in our calendar.  Some doctors have already given me appointments  in the following year.  Well, I may not be here in another year but the appointment is still on my calendar and on the calendar of the doctor. Yes, our plans may go awry in a moment and be changed forever.  There are some who have grown accustomed to saying, "Lord willing, we will see you tomorrow."  It is easy to say but perhaps we have not grasped all of the truth of that statement.  The next time you stand at the kitchen stove, watching the trickle of vapor coming from the spout, remember what God has said about your life.  Praise God today that He is in control of the next moment.