God Had Other Plans - My Thoughts on 2008

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

- Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.

-Psalm 40:5 (New International Version)

For me 2008 has been full of surprises, twists, and turns. Seems that my "best-laid" plans, which I thought were well thought out and carefully considered, would completely be turned upside down and inside out by God! It certainly is true that man can make plans but God determines his steps!

Who would have thought :

1. That I would become the youth ministry leader! I had just attended a worship conference last Sepetember and had already made plans for our worship team when pastor asked me to lead the youth ministry. I said yes and now here I am ministering to 20-30 kids at ALife. What an opportunity to make an impact in the lives of young people for God! We have our own youth blog : http://alifeyouth.wordpress.com/ to give you an idea of the activities that we plan to do in 2009. It's gonna be exciting!

2. That my eldest son would flourish in a mainstream 3rd grade class. Several friends and family knew our struggle with this. It was a situation that had been testing our faith for several years. We had already accepted that he would go through another year in a special day class in 2008. But God had other plans for his life! On the first day of school, we were told that he would attend a mainstream classroom and would be provided with an aide to help him adjust and keep up with the pace. We recently had our first parent-teacher conference and the overall feedback on his performance was positive. We still have a few things to work on but he's staying in that class for good! I remember 2 years ago, his 1st grade teacher telling us that he would never be able to keep up with the pace of academic work in the higher grade levels. Lesson of the story : never trust in what man says and his prognostications, trust in God who who controls all things and causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him.

3. The unexpected passing away of Nanay. We planned a vacation to New Jersey and New York, to spend time with Nanay and also visit our other relatives who lived there. But she passed away about a month before we were scheduled to make the trip. Little did my wife and I know that Nanay's visit last December 2007 would be the last time we'd see her alive. The photo on the left shows her posing with the 2 boys during her visit to California. On her way to the hospital, shortly before she passed away, Nanay said, “Don’t let them experiment on my body. There are many mansions in my father’s kingdom and I’m ready to go.” She was quoting a verse in Scripture. In John 14, verses 1 and 2 Jesus told his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you…” In the midst of pain and agony, Nanay remembered a PROMISE made by Jesus Christ and she clung to it and believed in it with a sincere and firm conviction. There was no doubt in her mind where she was spending eternity. The funeral service was beautiful and attended by many of her friends who talked about how much she touched their lives. Nanay was always a positive and encouraging person. I will always remember our several conversations about life, faith, and family. We'll all miss her very much.

4. That I would start blogging! I don't really know why I started a personal blog space. I didn't have anything real special to say anyway. What I do know is having that sense of personal satisfaction and fulfillment by writing down my thoughts, talking about things that interest me, and documenting some insights I have gained in the course of preparing Sunday School and Bible study lessons. I've tried several times to keep a written journal but it just seemed so boring and very limiting. The blog format was appealing in that I could embed videos, link cool websites, cite online articles I find interesting, post pictures, and most of all - write with a keyboard (which I prefer anytime over pencil and paper).

Who knows what's in store for 2009. Will this recession linger? Will my company lay off people? Will I get a raise? Those verses I mentioned at the beginning of the blog serves to remind us to trust in God, trust His heart. He will never lead us to destruction and ruin! He is our HOPE.

Happy New Year!