Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
    and gathers its food at harvest.
How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
    When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief.

• Proverbs 6:6-11

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

• Luke 14:28-30

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

• James 4:13-17

My grandson graduated high school in early May.  It was a totally different atmosphere than what I had imagined.

Strangely, the “largest school” in the Greater Memphis area had its graduation in Mississippi, not Tennessee.  There was an event center down there that was large enough and available.  But that is not what I was referring to when I said the atmosphere changed.

I talked to my grandson a year ago, and he had a plan.  He was going to take his preliminary classes for Pre-Vet at a local community college.  His girlfriend was going to take a three-year program at the community college.  During her third year, my grandson was going to go to farrier school.  With that certificate, he could earn money for college by caring for horse hooves, mostly replacing horseshoes.  Then, the two of them could go to a four-year college.

Nice having a plan, but then his girlfriend said that she had never had a boyfriend other than him and she wanted to know if she was missing something.  Funny, I had a girlfriend in college who said the same thing.  When she wanted to start dating me again, I said that I was not interested.  We never saw each other again.  I did not want someone who made a commitment and then went back on their word, even if it was at a young age when the commitment was made.

So, I asked my grandson what his plans were.  He said that he had enough scholarship money to survive at a four-year school.  He would need to earn up to $3000 each year, but if he joins the choral group at the university, they pay their performers.  A good summer job might make up the difference.  Strangely, his ex-girlfriend is going to attend the same school.

But then, he thought he might work as a dog groomer for a couple of years to have enough for Veterinary school.  Then, he could work as a vet in a clinic while working on his specialization.  He wants large animals.

His plans had been thwarted.  Now, he had goals.  Reach one milestone and then assess the financial need for the next milestone.  There was no carefully laid out plan.  As Woody Allen said, “If you want God to laugh, tell Him your plans.”  But if you are in prayer about your goals, God will help you along the way if that is within His will.

No vows or oaths are taken.  No hard and fast calendar milestones, just educational milestones and skills and knowledge that can obtain better paying work.

As for the girlfriend, he has been hurt and he does not want to talk about it.  All he says is that he is focusing on his education and romance might get in the way.

Sometimes, we have a plan, and that plan does not match what God wants.  If we say an oath or vow, we need to stick to that plan.  But when the plan is more of a goal, we can be flexible in the planning, discerning what God’s will might be along the way.

And knowing my past, having sworn off girls altogether until my landlady introduced me to the woman that I would marry, romance may happen along the way.  That may add the years to his goals, but he is now focused.

Keep your eyes on Jesus.  Keep praying.  Keep listening for God’s guidance.

And be flexible to alter your timeline or even the goal as long as you are glorifying God and following what He wants in your life.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.