Line upon Line

When one young man was about to be released from prison, he had made plans to move to a certain city, paid the fee for and received relocation approval, his family had reserved a place to live, and he had a job set up. Then, three days before his release, the relocation approval was revoked. The county where he had committed his crime wanted him released to their county so they could monitor his compliance with probation rules for 12 months before approving relocation to a different county. He was devastated, crushed, and angry. Group members offered sympathy and solutions.

One solution was to create a back-up plan. Your family, even on this short notice, can help find a place to live and a place to work. Your family is already giving you emotional and financial support. You have already committed to comply with probation rules. And you have committed to yourself and to us that you will never do anything to return to prison. How can you make your back-up plan work? To give additional perspective, an older group member said, “I’ve got 14 years more on my sentence. I would trade places with you in a heartbeat!” Other group members reminded him that any bad day on the outside is always better than a good day on the inside.

How often do we overreact when things don’t go our way? How much calmer would we be if we had a backup plan? How much less anxiety would we have if we plan for the best and prepare for the worst?

Here are four suggestions that can be helpful as we make plans:

1. Make plans, but don’t get upset at things outside your control. Have a backup plan. When my wife and I served a mission at BYU-Hawaii, we could rise in the morning to sunshine and blue skies. Another great day in this beautiful island paradise! But we always took an umbrella because there could be unexpected rain showers. We had a backup plan. And we used it often. We learned that frequent rain is what makes Hawaii wonderfully green! [Note: Right now we are praying for all those affected by the extensive rains and flooding.]
2. Prepare well, envision success, rehearse your plan. If things don’t go according to plan, go to plan B, or plan C. Don’t get discouraged. Be flexible. When Nephi and his brothers failed twice to obtain the plates of brass from Laban, Nephi did not give up. He learned to trust the Lord and went “being led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.” (1 Nephi 4:6). And the Lord helped him obtain the plates of brass.
3. Ask, “What is the worst that can happen?” and plan your response. What if we plan a date, or a wedding, a trip, or a reunion, etc. and things don’t go well, our backup plan doesn’t work, and we must simply live through the experience. Instead of becoming devastated, crushed, or angry, how can we transform the situation into a learning experience? 
4. Trust in the Lord’s plan and stay true to your covenants. If things don’t work out, maybe there is a greater blessing and a more important plan than our own. When Joseph of Egypt was sold into slavery by his brothers, he could have dreamed of retribution, he could have given in to the tempting invitation of Potiphar’s wife, he could have become angry when he was thrown into prison for fleeing from the tempting invitation of Potiphar’s wife. Yet, he trusted the Lord and stayed true to his covenants. The greater blessing and the fruition of the more important plan came 22 years later! When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he said ” 5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life… 7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God… ” (Genesis 45:5, 7-8). 

In all of our planning, we can learn to have faith in and trust the Lord even in times of uncertainty and testing. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: ” … never doubt the reality of faith. You will gather the fruits of faith as you follow the principles God has established for its use.”¹

Elder Scott shared these principles which can apply to our planning:

“Trust in God and in His willingness to provide help when needed, no matter how challenging the circumstance.”

“Obey His commandments and live to demonstrate that He can trust you.”

“Be sensitive to the quiet promptings of the Spirit.”

“Act courageously on that prompting.”

“Be patient and understanding when God lets you struggle to grow and when answers come a piece at a time over an extended period.”

May the Lord continue to bless us as we plan and prepare and trust Him in this beautiful mortal experience!

Footnotes

1. Scott, Richard G., The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing, General Conference April 2003.