The Architect

Why? The age old question.  Why does this happen to that person?   After our dog was diagnosed with a tumor (cancer) a couple of weeks ago, I was struggling with this question.  I had lunch with one of the pastors at church.  She patiently listened to me and felt my pain.  She did not try to placate me with words like "everything happens for a reason" or "God has a plan".  She listened, and listened  and listened some more.  She did not offer words, she just let me talk through the thoughts going through my head. After lunch she gave me a book to read entitled "Why? Making Sense of God's Will" by Adam Hamilton

Some of you may be wondering why I would be asking that question about a dog.  First, if you aren't an animal lover you may not fully understand.  Second, she (our dog) is just over a year old - much too young to have this kind of problem.  And third, it brought back memories of 3 years ago when I saw the x-rays where the bone was gone (for me, my hip and for her the bottom part of her leg).  I had a hard time coming to terms with what this meant for her.  And thinking about having to go home and tell my daughters what this was going to mean, as well.

One of the chapters in the book (it is a quick read - I read the entire book on a plane ride) discusses "collaborating on the story of your life".  This spoke to me.  We have all heard someone say "God has a plan for your life."  But there is also the discussion of free will.  If we have free will, then how can God have a plan for your life.

My interpretation, after reading the book, is that God has a blueprint.  I'm not an architect (nor have I played one on TV as the old commercial goes), but I do know that a blueprint is a plan, a starting point.  Thinking in terms of building a home, it is easy for a new homeowner to think "oh, I would like to be able to put the refrigerator over there" after seeing the walls go up.  A thought like that can have several different impacts to the architect.  If you put the refrigerator there, we can't put the sink here and the stove won't fit there.  The cabinets that were ordered may not fit.  Or perhaps while looking through design magazines the excited home owner sees a new design that they want to incorporate. While these changes may seem small to the owner, the architect is behind the scenes adjusting the blue prints so that the new homeowner's vision becomes seamless.

In this scenario, I am the homeowners and God is the architect.  Decisions by me, or even by those around me that may impact me, or perhaps even a force of nature like a tornado or fire, change the plans.  God takes the decisions/events in our lives and makes the adjustments to the blueprints.  It is our choice to look at the new blueprints and decide if we like the new design.  God can take the challenges and the decisions that may not have been in the original plans and turn them into something beautiful.

Every day the new blueprint is placed before us, we have to make the decision to accept the changes or throw them out. Which decision will you make?