Proverbs 16:9 says “We can make our plans but the LORD directs our steps.” Never have I felt the breadth and depth of that verse until now. You see, my husband and I always look forward to the last week in December and the first week in January – the week of Christmas and New Year’s. It’s our time to recharge and recuperate from our busy season and I was particularly looking forward to it this year.
The last quarter of 2024 really took a beating on me. I felt so unprepared. It seemed like I was always running behind or scrambling to make last minute preparations, never being able to take a full breath before I had to prepare for the next gig. For some reason, I was caught off guard during last year’s busy season and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t catch up. So I was counting down the days until the craziness ended.
We don’t plan anything extravagant for our rest and relaxation weeks; although, a few times we stayed at a vacation home. Lately though, we’ve just been staying home, relaxing with the kids, enjoying some family time, playing games, eating food and just doing nothing. Those were our plans, anyway. Sadly, nothing went according to plan.
The first week of our rest and relaxation, I got sick. It was no big deal since New Year’s eve was just around the corner. So we rescheduled everything for the following week.
The second week of our rest and relaxation, my husband gets sick. Again, no big deal. The weekend is just around the corner and he should be feeling better by then. Only he doesn’t.
Now we were beginning to run out of time. Our daughter was scheduled to go back to college in less than a week. If we wanted to do any family time with her, my husband only had about three days to get better – according to our timetable. Sadly, that didn’t happen either.
Instead of getting better as the days progressed, my husband’s symptoms never improved and eventually got worse. I wound up taking him to the ER where he had to undergo emergency surgery to save his life. Definitely not according to our plan.
Even when I took him to the ER, I thought he would be prescribed a round of antibiotics, maybe spend a couple days in the hospital and then he’d be discharged home. Once again, that didn’t happen. My husband has now been in the hospital for over a month – 37 days as of the day I’m posting – and we’re not sure when he will come home.
It’s fair to say, 2025 has not gone according to our plan in the slightest. But I’m curious how we will look back on it in the years to come. Will we see it as annus horribilis (Latin for horrible year), the way Queen Elizabeth described 1992? Or will we look back on it and see God directing our steps?
It’s too early to say right now because we’re still in the midst of the storm but ask me next year.