Living Plan B

There are times when we hear something that seems to stop the world for a moment. Phrases or words that seem to either reorient us into our story, or define the story in a way that causes us to stop and reflect on the profound import of our lives.

These can be words that define a nation, We the People...Ask not what your country can for you...I have a dream. All have shaped us as a culture, the DNA of these words change who we are and how we view our world, our hope, our past and our future.
Or the words can be personal. words that change the scope of our future..I do...I promise...I will never...I never thought...

Somewhere early in our journey we develop a picture in our heads of how this life will look. The house will always be clean and full of fun people, the car will always start, the boss will continue to heap praise, Sleeping Beauty will always wake up pretty and compassionate, the kids will grow up to be strong and confident and will always come home to visit.

My bride was talking to one of our kids about the disillusionment they are experiencing, about some decisions they are making that are heartbreaking for them and for us. And my bride in her quiet, understated, attention averse way said, "We all live plan B" In an instant my bride summed up in 5 words a truism of our existence. We truly live Plan B. These few words sum up all the failed promises, the broken dreams, the illusions shattered by reality. Somewhere along the way we discover that the picture in our heads is nothing more than an illusion. We compare our reality with a myth, and walk away disappointed.

We have found that parents get sick and die. We have found that bosses treat us poorly. We have found that sickness and heartache tracks our kids down and attacks without compunction or mercy. We have found that religious leaders treat us as commodities and not community. We have found that the greatest disappointments are those we find in ourselves. We have found that the answer to prayer can be painful silence. No, indeed, this was not Plan A.

It is a temptation to look around and feel that everyone else is living Plan A, which only deepens our disillusionment. Others have it all together. And so we compare the illusion of their Plan A to our mundane Plan B, and we lose hope, we lose faith, we lose joy- with ourselves and those close to us.

But I look at the old book and realize that a mere two chapters are spent on Plan A. I realize that the mission is spelled out in Plan B. It is in this story that I realize that Plan A is imaginary, but Plan B is lived! Plan B is carried out with sacrifice and passion, with suffering and joy, with loss and victory. Then I begin to take inventory of what Plan B has brought me. Compassion for those suffering loss of a child, sympathy for those who lost a mate, value of friends sustained through the years, satisfaction with an existence of life making and love making, and finally a sense of significance through the mission of one who better understood the value of Plan B, even at great price.

The grandeur is in the embracing of our Plan B life.

So for those who are lamenting the missed opportunity of Plan A, embrace Plan B. Plan A is imagined...Plan B is lived.

Godspeed
Don