Who's In Charge Here?

Who's In Charge Here?

"…That day all his planning comes to nothing." - Psalm 146:4

"Man plans … and God laughs."

Or so I have been told.

I had great plans for Lent. I had chosen the book I was going to read. I had worked out my fasting and almsgiving. And I could not wait to dig into the daily devotionals.

I felt prepared for Lent. I was all set.

Or so I thought.

And then Pope Benedict made his surprise announcement that he was retiring from the papacy. At that moment all my plans went out the window. My thoughts and prayers and tears were all about our beloved pope who was leaving and I could not think of anything else.

And then my thoughts and prayers and tears were all about who would replace him and I thought we would never see white smoke.

The good news is, I have certainly been focused on God. I have been praying and hoping and doing my best to place my trust in Jesus. I have cried tears of grief and tears of joy.

And, underneath it all, as the world watches this drama unfold, my heart soars with joy and praise to our God. Our God who is shaking up the world.

And reminding all of us who is in charge.

The other day I saw a picture of the two popes together. They had lunch together. They prayed together. And I was blown away by the realization that this may be the first time in over 600 years - if not the first time in history - that two living popes spent time together.

Our God is a God of surprises. Any time we think we are in charge or we are supposed to be in charge, He finds a way to get our attention.

He certainly got mine.

I think my Holy Week is going to be different than usual. In fact, I know it is.

And all I can do is laugh.

Copyright 2013 Colleen Spiro