When Things Don't Go According to Plan

Tonight, I was trying to figure out what to do about supper. I really didn't want to go to the grocery store. We had the basics . . . chicken in the freezer, green beans, potatoes. But I didn't know how I wanted to cook the chicken. I started looking online for a recipe. The cool thing about recipes is that you can always substitute, leave something out, or add something extra. As I searched for a recipe, I finally found one that sounded manageable and something we would like. While I didn't use chicken thighs, like the recipe said . . . and while I didn't use the same amounts that the recipe suggested, I followed the basic idea of it.

I think in life, sometimes we have a "recipe" in mind, and it's easy to really get frustrated and even scared when the recipe can't work according to plan. Sometimes we have to adapt in different ways. In life, things just don't always work out the way we hoped, planned, or rehearsed them to.

I never really cooked before we got married. Fortunately, I must have a knack for it, because most of what I've made has been really good. But when I first started cooking, I never wanted to stray from the recipe. I was always afraid of messing something up. But I've realized, as I've learned, that sometimes straying from the recipe is a good thing. Often, it's just what is needed to have a knock-out dish.

I think it is very analogous to life. If we try to "stick to the plan" constantly, sometimes it will become difficult because the plan just falls apart. And when things like that happen, we need to have the wisdom and the courage to stray from the "recipe" and make it work. . . even if it means that Plan A has to turn into Plan B. And the turnout, often, comes out better anyway.