We all have our own personal style when it comes to preparing for upcoming events or happenings. For some people, that “preparation” mode is almost non-existent. What will be will be! Not much time or energy is spent worrying about how to cover every possible contingency and every possible complication. If things seem a bit disorganized when the time arrives, more often than not, the more ‘organized’ members of the group automatically pitch in and pull things together. We call people like this “easy going” – well, at least we say that PUBLICLY. Under our breath, we mumble other things.
Then there is the opposite extreme – the over-organizers and the over-planners. People like this spend far too MUCH time making sure nothing is forgotten and making sure every contingency is planned for. Sometimes these people drive everyone around them berserk because they are so focused and so intense. Those who are more easy-going clash in a big way with the over-planners and can often be seen rolling their eyes and making other unkind sorts of gestures in their presence.
I am apparently one of these over-planners. It figures. I should have been alerted years ago when I was told my Myers-Briggs personality scale was “ESFJ” – the “J” (judging) being the culprit. A “J” likes to make sure that all of the details of everything are under control well in advance. I suppose that’s why I was always one of the first students to turn in my term paper. It’s why I plan my sermon topics a year in advance and then usually have my next sermon written before I’ve preached the current one. And it’s why I seriously over-prepare every Bible study or class I’m leading – if we ever really stuck to one of my ridiculously ambitious agendas, there’s no telling when the class would end!
My Mom and my two grandsons, Leron and Jalen, will be visiting with me for a few days this week. So, true to form, I’ve been in a frenzy making sure I’m prepared. Change the bed linens, clean the bathrooms, try to figure out how to hook up the Wii, determine some activities everyone can do together, and … oh, yes … go grocery shopping. My refrigerator, my freezer, and my pantry is full of every possible food or snack item that any child could ever possibly want. And I pray they eat all of it or Weight Watchers will declare an emergency the next time I walk in…
You see, people like me LOVE to think we know exactly what the future holds and that it is all neatly under our control. Of course, there are advantages to being a “J”, but the disadvantage, of course, is that we tend to be “control freaks” (remember that term?) and therefore we often FORGET that God is in control so that we don’t have to be. People like me (and maybe like you!) need a reality check every so often – we need to step back and chill and remember that the world revolves around GOD’S agenda – God has already done all the planning and all the preparing for everything that really matters.
Blessings,
Pastor Janice