I'm Sorry It Didn't Go as Planned

I'm sorry it didn't go as planned.
Those four years of specified learning in your art didn't equal a performing job right out of college.
Senior year pride, encouraging compliments, professional auditions, and imaging a future on stage
didn't create your reality this year.
I'm sorry.

I'm sorry it didn't go as planned.
I know you expected that graduation made you an on-your-own adult.
You worked towards a goal of moving away from a place you used to call home.
Reality often twists our fantasies of how we wanted life to be.
Moving back home this year was where reality brought you.
I'm sorry.

I'm sorry it didn't go as planned.
Your first romantic relationship didn't sparkle like in the movies.
He was not what you expected in your imagination.
A great friend for you doesn't always equal a great husband for you.
While your stories did separate in a healthy way, it still is sad.
I'm sorry.

But

I'm glad it didn't go as planned.
Those four years of learning your art developed you in so many ways.
Your gifts improved, but so did your confidence, love for the Lord, leadership skills, and self-discovery.
Your future will appear on various stages in this life, both under the spotlight and in the brilliance of the sun.
College prepared you for more than just performing.

I'm glad it didn't go as planned.
You are an adult, but in different ways than you thought.
"Adulting" is more of being than doing.
Returning home provided you with a job promotion, leadership opportunities, a band to worship with, new friendships, and the blessing of living with a loving family when disaster struck the world. I wouldn't have changed those blessings for you.

I'm glad it didn't go as planned.
You gained an Indiana best friend when you needed a reason to stay.
Through that relationship you learned how to be bold, honest, open with your thoughts, flexible, and how to invest wholeheartedly in someone else's life.
Although it didn't lead all the way to commitment, that relationship pushed you to blossom in new ways.

I'm sorry it didn't go as planned.
I'm sorry that sometimes you are sad while looking back at "what could have been".
I'm sorry that those imaginings didn't become reality.

But I'm glad it happened the way it did.



"A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." ~Proverbs 16:9