People do their best making plans for their lives, but the Eternal guides each step.

“Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, 'My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.' So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse.

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, 'If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that the power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, 'Who touched my clothes?' 'You see the people crowding against you,' his disciples answered, 'and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.'

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. 'Your daughter is dead,' they said, 'Why bother the teacher anymore?'”

Going with Jairus to see and heal his daughter who is dying was incredibly important work. It was not worldly, but full of purpose and value. It also was incredibly urgent work. Yet, never do we see Jesus rushing and pushing to get there or somewhere in time. Rather than hurrying, we see Him more often we see Him slowing down and waiting.

Trust. Jesus trusted His Father for everything and with everything – including time. He did not worry that He would not make it in time or miss His Father's purposes for this little girl. In the middle of the urgent and important, Jesus stops and takes the time for the woman who has suffered for twelve years. As a result, she is set free and comes face to face with Jesus.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:34 (MSG), “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now [in this moment], and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow [or the next thing all together]. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

Jesus had a purpose for His life. But at the same time, he lived spontaneously in the moment with God. Every moment, he was present to those around Him, available to them and entering into what God had for Him.

Are we making time and room in the moment or are we thinking about what is next? Do we control and manage our time? Do we believe that God is more than able to help us deal with the next thing when it comes?

Sometimes rather than surrender my time to God, I like to control and manage it. I plan it out, set goals and work hard to accomplish all my tasks on my lists. Yes, I even write things down just so I can cross them off the list. Rather than count my blessings at the end of the day in gratitude, sometimes I go back through my checklist to see if I got everything done so I can pat myself on the back for how much I accomplished... okay, kind of pathetic.

I think some of this is rooted in ambition and wanting to be successful rather than resting in Christ. When I am too focused on my schedule or things I need to accomplish, it actually seems to suck the life of God out of the moment.

Sometimes what is behind the weight of having too much to accomplish and trying to get it all done to an extent is probably some fear and worry. I worry about letting others down rather than trusting God to provide someone else to help. I hate to ask for help and appear needy or unable to get something done.

Jesus speaks over and over about how worries of the world choke out the life of God. Other things like worldly desire for prosperity/success, giving up and quitting quickly or jumping from place to place also choke out the life of God.

Too often, I drive my activities around my schedule of items I want to accomplish. When I have too many things to accomplish, I worry about how to get it all done. While some goals and overall direction is important, what I am learning is also the value of letting it all go and being present to those around me.

Tonight I did not worry about anything I had to get done. I just wanted to spend some time with my family. We went out for the evening and had the greatest time. And in the midst of it, I had the most incredible moment with my husband and TJ.

TJ sings the songs from our church spontaneously at different times. I just love to sing along with him. Tonight he broke out singing “Glory to God in the Highest” as we were driving home and looking at the moon (TJ's homework this week).

I started singing along with him for awhile when he suddenly stopped singing and asked me to please stop too because he was talking to God at the moment (he didn't want to be distracted). I then sat there listening to him make up songs to God. It was so beautiful and precious. As I listened to him and held my husband's hand, it was such a sweet moment.

Proverbs 16:9 says, “People do their best making plans for their lives, but the Eternal guides each step.”

Planning is important and having overall goals and direction. This is how I ended up with TJ in the first place was that my husband and I had a plan and overall direction that we followed through on. However, so also is being free to enter into the moment and what God has in it – good, bad, difficult, or enjoyable. We need to be able to toss away our plans when God has something different for us.

I was meditating earlier in the week about how God deeply values and establishes friendships with people throughout the Bible history. What I can see about friends is that they are not perfect but they do make time for each other regularly. They choose to live their lives in relationship / companionship with each other. This takes time of not having an agenda but enjoying each other's company. This is the ground that grows our friendship with God.

Lord, help us to plan out our lives according to your purposes for us. But at the same time, help us to live spontaneously in the moment – surrendering our agendas to you. Help us to grow in our relationship to you and capacity to be present to all You have for us in the moment.