6 Ways to Plan in Uncertain Times
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year’s Eve! What does your end of the year look like? Feasting? Fireworks? Football? Taking down the tree? Decorating for a New Year’s party? (Just hit reply or share in the comments. I really want to know!)
I’ll make some sweet and sour collard greens and black-eyed pea salad and my hubby will smoke some pork for sure, and yes, we’ll take down the tree (we’re tree down by New Year’s kind of people). But I also always try to dedicate the last few days of December and the early days of January to some intentional time for planning. If you’d like to join me in the exercise I use, keep reading or scroll down to the end if you can’t wait, and you’ll find my free ten-page Story Planner printable.
Since the last few years have made chicken scratch of our planners, today I’ll share some tips for planning when the future is uncertain.
Should we bother to plan when times are uncertain?
2020, the Year of Canceled Everything, threatened to thwart planning for even the most dedicated. Of which I am one. Even so, the last week of December 2020 found me outlining a new Advent devotional, setting a goal to write and publish it in time for Advent of 2021.
When I discovered on January 4, 2021 that my mother had contracted Covid, I made allowances in my plan for caregiving. I imagined my 83-year-old mom would struggle to recover and that I’d need to wear down my tires on the I-65/85 drive back and forth to Atlanta. As some of you know, that story played out differently, my mom died on January 12, and my plans were altered. Time and energy was taken up by grieving and executing my mother’s estate. No new Advent devotional in 2021 from me.
I know you too have experienced story shifts, plans changed, dreams disappointed, as well as surprises enjoyed. Such is the nature of life in the already and not yet.
What should we do in seasons of little certainty and less control? When we face a potential move or job change, when we expect a new baby and don’t know what to expect, when we recognize the unmistakeable signs that our loved one’s health is gravely declining? Forget the planning and just let life happen?
It’s an option. But probably not the best. For after all, while we wait, we have a purpose, a God-given plan. He has called us to be part of his kingdom coming, to be fruitful and multiply, not only children, but beauty, his glorious redemption, on this earth. God had a plan all along, to redeem the cosmos through his Son, to draw us into his story as characters and carriers of the good news, to shape us more and more into the likeness of Jesus. As we engage in intentional planning, we are more likely to recognize the contours of this story being written in and through our lives. What a remarkable privilege. Let’s consider six ways to plan in seasons of uncertainty.
Six ways to plan when the future is uncertain
1. Write, record, or tell stories of the past year.
Why? The Psalmist David says it best, “On your wondrous works I will meditate” (Psalm 145:5). We don’t need to share only the “happy” stories. Even as I recount the unexpected and agonizing loss of my mom and the disappointment of the unwritten Advent devotional, I remember God’s comforting presence in my grief, the kind support of community, the stretching of my faith in my confusion and sorrow. As we recall how God has redeemed in the past, our faith grows stronger and we are more able to lean into uncertain futures, believing that God will create beauty, whether we reach our goals or not.
How? Look back through your calendar or planner or journal to jog your memory of significant stories. Consider what gifts of mercy and grace you see, how God worked in the midst of uncertainty, and what new joys you experienced.
2. Imagine stories that will be written in the coming year, writing them out as if they have happened.
To hope is to imagine, to see “a vision of redemption in the midst of decay” (Dan Allender, Tremper Longman III, The Cry of the Soul). As we consider goals, we must look at what is broken in this world, what is “not the way it’s supposed to be,” praying about how we might be part of God’s restoration work. As we pray “Thy kingdom come,” we ask “How can I play a part in bringing mercy, peace, justice, and hope to others?”
Writing down our plans, goals, and dreams has been shown to help us reach them. Author Henriette Klauser explains, “Writing triggers the RAS (Reticular Activating System), which in turn sends a signal to the cerebral cortex: ‘Wake up! Pay attention! Don’t miss this detail!’ Once you write down the goal, your brain will be working overtime to see you get it, and will alert you to the signs and signals that…were there all along” (Write It Down, Make It Happen, 34). Consider writing down your plans or goal as a story or prayer (Be sure to check out the Story Planner if you’d like to try this).
3. Be flexible. Keep moving toward the goals God has given you; adapt as changes come your way.
Consider Mary, the mother of Jesus. She had a plan—to marry Joseph and eventually have children. God disrupted this plan, sending the angel Gabriel to brief her on the new plan: you’re going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit, and he is going to be the Son of God. How does Mary respond to this radical shift that involves deep uncertainty? She surrenders: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:26-38).
When disruptions come, we can pray and watch to see how the Spirit might be leading us to rest in Jesus while trusting more fully in God’s plans. Flexibility is the fruit of faith.
4. Surround yourself with supportive community to help you accomplish your goals.
Mary rushed to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was also pregnant with a miracle baby. Elizabeth understood Mary’s experience, and she affirmed the goodness of the plan, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45).
Find a friend, a group, or a coach who will walk alongside you as you journey toward your goals. This past year, a friend and I co-led a group for people who wanted to gather all of the important information we need to leave a helpful legacy in case of crisis or death; each participant expressed gratitude for such a group, stating they never would have entered or continued the process without the encouragement and shared wisdom of the group.
5. Expect resistance. As we seek to be part of God’s kingdom coming, the evil one lurks about, with his own plans to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).
Whether it’s sabotage from without or within, we can expect resistance. In his witty and winsome little book, The War of Art, writer Stephen Pressfield explains, “Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet…To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. If you believe in God (and I do) you must declare Resistance evil, for it prevents us from achieving the life God intended when he endowed each of us without ur own unique genius.” Resistance, Pressfield argues, will be drawn forth by “any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity” (The War of Art).
Pressfield’s “Resistance” is the Satan of the Bible. In order to defeat the evil one’s plots against us and God, we will need to arm ourselves with the peace, hope, and love of the gospel, praying for strength and seeking help from our supportive community in times of weakness.
6. Plan to love more than you love to plan.
As I’ve already confessed, I love to plan—I plan my weekly schedule, I plan my activities on vacation, I even plan the type of ice cream I’m going to get on my way to Marble Slab. It is even more essential for me to remember that the best plan is God’s plan, and his plan is for me to love him and to love others. When plans change or resistance blocks our way, it is God’s plan for us—to draw us to himself through the salvation of his Son that keeps us moving forward in our greatest goal—to glorify him and enjoy him forever.
Thanks for reading and responding. Writing is way more fun when I get to interact with you. How about you? What’s one thing you hope to see happen in 2022? Hit reply or share in the comments. We’d all love to know!
Don’t forget to get your free Story Planner printable, and please let me know if you try it how you like it.
It will be a great reunion of siblings under the roof of our childhood home! It’s not easy to gather the sister who lives in Bangkok, the brother from Denver, our beloved sister in law from Japan (who moved there many years ago to care for her aging mother) and myself from Florida, all to the islands at the same time even in normal times. Add in Covid and you know what complications arise. By the way, my description of our sister in law as beloved fits perfectly as she makes the ring of seven siblings feel more complete since the passing of our oldest brother twelve years ago. But today, on this new year’s eve, there will be the happy chaos of keiki (children)running through the house. They will be excited by the prospect of fireworks although it’s a rainy day here in paradise. There will be much feasting on island favorites, football games on tv, and most definitely there will be some serious games of scrabble. The beautiful and cool part of “our planning” is that God orchestrated this far before any of us knew it would happen. His grace and mercy to us is unfathomable! I thank God for his love that enables us to love others, especially those in our earthly family who may not know him(yet), just a little more each day.