The Lord Determines Our Steps

Proverbs 16:9

How often in your life had you made plans, only to have them not turn out the way you wanted them to?

Perhaps your plans weren’t in alignment with God’s. I can’t count the number of times where some detailed plan I made failed, only to have something much better happen as a result!

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In 2004, I was having severe anxiety issues exacerbated by the job that I was working in as a project manager for IBM. Things got so bad that I eventually left that job — with its good salary, benefits, and status — for a very uncertain future. All I knew is that I didn’t want to work for a big corporation again.

That led me to starting a career as an author, initially self-publishing a book that was moderately successful but became popular when a well-known publisher of Apple-related books decided to add my book to their offerings. At the time, I was an early podcaster, and I was able to start up one of the earliest podcast hosting services. I also became a certified consultant, and ran a consulting business. A friend knew of my skills as a speaker and trainer, and brought me on for a successful run as a nationwide trainer for requirements management courses. My writing career took off even further as I became a blogger for a well-respected Apple website and started writing more books.

By 2015, I was doing none of these things. I had moved into a more focused life running my own website. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do those other things that were making me some good money, but God nudged me down the more important path.

That’s what happened in my business life. In my REAL life, working from home meant that I was able to help my father-in-law a lot after his wife passed, taking him to appointments (and lunch together), and learning to love a man who to whom I had only been a “shirt-tail relative” before that time. It meant that I was able to visit him constantly when he was in hospice.

When Barb needed two knee replacement operations back-to-back, I was home to help her out and ease her recovery. As my parents aged and needed to move out of their home, I was able to spend the time I needed to get them moved, to allay their fears, to resolve the medical and insurance issues. Most importantly, it meant I could spend quality time with them before they died.

If I had followed my “plans”, I probably would have stayed in my career with IBM and remained miserable. This year — with my 65th birthday coming soon — I would be thinking about retirement. All the things that I have grown to love and cherish since 2004 — helping my wife, my parents and my in-laws, studying Scripture and really beginning to understand my relationship with God — may not have ever happened.

Thank you, Lord, for determining my steps.

Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash