We have had the same outdoor cushions for ten years now and, frankly, they were getting sort of gross.  My mother-in-law was kind enough to buy them for us but they had simply outlived themselves.  I still have a pretty difficult time replacing things.  We once had a vacuum for over 20 years when I was growing up and my mother used to say Daddy spent more money fixing the old one than it would have cost to get a new one.  It’s funny how things don’t seem so bad until you replace something else.  With our beautiful new fence in place the old cushions looked even worse.  So I searched for some inexpensive ones that fit and I think look great!  My mother-in-law had given me her grandmother’s beautiful outdoor glass table which holds ten chairs.  Only six fit nicely on our porch with the table and two of the chairs are outside together nearby.  The other two are on the other side of our house overlooking our koi pond.  I dug and dug at the store but could only find six matching orange/red cushions.  I used to work retail in college so I know my way around.  After more intensive scouring in another part of the store, I managed to unearth another two.  But I still needed two more!  The whole hour was about to have been for naught when it occurred to me — why not make the separate two a different color?  Et voilà!  I think the blue looks so beautiful next to the Virgin Mary!  These cushions are but a microcosm of how I believe the Lord works.  This may be a trivial example but I trust you understand the larger point.  Just when you think your work and plans are ruined, God reveals something better He had in store for you, only you could not see at the time.  The American pastor John C. Maxwell said:

“Failed plans should not be interpreted as a failed vision.  Visions don’t change, they are only refined.  Plans rarely stay the same, and are scrapped or adjusted as needed.  Be stubborn about the vision, but flexible with your plan.”

I will continue to have goals and make plans, but keeping in mind God may have something better, I think I just won’t get too cushy.