I like to think that I’m a fairly practical person who is proficient at making fairly good decisions.  I can plan projects and even anticipate extenuating circumstances.  At least, generally.  I may not be the sharpest hook in the tackle box, but I’m not the dullest either.

By nature, I’m an organizer, thinker, and scheduler.  A planner, and a pretty good one.  Or so I like to tell myself. 

Then the Lord humbles me once again. 

A while back on this very blog, I was lamenting the lack of birds visiting my new bird feeder.  I had erected it in what seemed to me to be the perfect spot – the backyard between the lake and the house.  It was a location that was private, sheltered, and in ready view of all the large windows on that side of the house. 

But the birds seemed reluctant to visit it.  Oh, sure, some came.  But not in proportion to all the birds in our area, or with the variety represented around here either.  “Why not?” I wondered (and I wrote).

Then things took an extremely negative turn.  Canada geese couples with their broods of goslings discovered my “ideally located” feeder, and began swimming right up to our shore and waddling the entire family under the seed-packed outfit.  Yes, it was cute at first.  Until I discovered how many “deposits” multiple goose families leave behind on the lawn!  AND they scared away the limited and more desirable smaller visitors.

After chasing away the geese multiple times a day … no doubt to the supreme entertainment of our neighbors … I began to realize I may need to switch plans.  But I’ve never been a quitter, so I researched ways to keep geese out of one’s yard.  I promptly strung lines with multiple reflectors attached across our entire shoreline.  Pleased with myself, I resumed my other planned activities for the day. 

Remember that expression about the best-laid plans?

30 minutes later, I was chasing a family of 8 geese away from the feeder, across my goose-dropping-peppered lawn, and back toward the lake.  They nimbly stepped over the line and reflectors and splashed into the water … honking their annoyance with me the entire way.

My plans changed immediately.  Not only in regard to where the birdfeeder should be mounted, but also about how I would be spending my next free moments.

I moved my fancy feeder to the front yard.  There are smaller viewing windows on that side of the house, but there are more trees in the vicinity, which definitely makes the smaller birdies more comfortable.  And the geese aren’t bold enough to travel that far away from the lake.  (Although two drake mallards are regular visitors.)

The transition has been a smashing success.

The expected sparrows, finches, and chickadees now make appearances … as well as the colorful bluejays and cardinals.  The regulars from the back still swoop in – grackles, red-wing blackbirds, and mourning doves.  We’ve even spotted pileated woodpeckers clinging tenaciously to the apparatus, popping aggressively away at the woodpecker blocks mounted on both ends.

Additional critters routinely seen scouring the grass below are the requisite squirrels, as well as chipmunks and even rabbits.  It’s not uncommon to view a vast smorgasbord of wildlife gorging themselves together on and under the feeder.

Who would have known?

Well, certainly not the “great planner” that is me!  However, the Great Planner that is God knew exactly what was needed and where.  And he guided the entire process.

Perhaps you will argue that the Lord does not involve himself in such mundane aspects of our lives like the proper placement of a birdfeeder.  I am convinced that he does! 

I have personally experienced God’s guiding and blessing hand too many times … certainly in significant matters, but even in the simplest ones!  Sometimes especially in the simplest ones!  I believe that these are the Lord’s loving reminders to us of how astonishing he is, how aware he is, and how present and providing he is even in our day-to-day lives.

Zophar posed these searching questions to Job: “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?  Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?  They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?  Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea” (Job 11:7-9).

In other words, our God is astounding and completely beyond our comprehension! 

We consistently short-change God by underestimating his abilities, and his involvement in our lives.  Like him making it clear where the bird feeder should be placed.  And so many other incidental and monumental details in our complicated (to us, but not to God!) lives.

Solomon makes these points: “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9).  “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).

Which is why the wise king urges us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

So certainly make your plans with prayer, to the honor of God and to the best of your ability.  Sometimes God moves us immediately into his planned path.  But also be ready to pivot if your plans implode, because sometimes the Lord lets us struggle a bit to remind us who is really in control. 

And thanks be to God that He is, and not us!

All of which underscores how we can and should rely upon our all-knowing and almighty God.  His plans are always perfect … even if they initially seem far from it. 

The more we learn to lean upon our God and his loving plans, the more profound our peace.  And that’s just another blessing the Lord brings us when we trust him, the true Master Planner.