Not What I Wanted

Did you ever have an experience where you really wanted something and couldn't get it? Then, afterwards, you were so very glad that you didn't get what you wanted. I had such an experience this week. If you've read my blogs, you know that I am a big Penn State fan and my wife and I love to go to PSU home games. This year I really wanted to go to today's game against Minnesota. Not only should it be an exciting, close game, but it is Homecoming, and that is always a special spectacle. The Fall scenery would be beautiful. And it is a 3:30 game, not a night game, which means that we'd get home at a decent time. I've tried for weeks, unsuccessfully, to find tickets. They just weren't available. Then a few days ago hundreds suddenly became available - after folks began to hear the weather report for today. The report called for snow - even though it is just mid-October. At that point I decided not to take a chance and that turned out to be a very wise choice. At this point they already have six inches of snow with more predicted. They've closed all the grass parking areas which eliminates 20,000 parking spaces. Even if the snow stops or isn't as bad as they've predicted, it will be a royal mess in Happy Valley this afternoon. Now if I were 30 years younger, it might be fun and a great challenge. But today I am more than content to sit in my recliner, in my warm living room, in front of my television. I'm glad I didn't get what I had wanted. I've had many experiences like this throughout my life, some much more serious. For example, as I approached retirement, I was offered a job that I really thought I wanted. My only question was If I was really ready to retire to take this job. But I was sure that God was opening this door for me. A meeting was set up with my potential employers and I was sure that I would need to make a decision that day. Instead, I was stunned to learn at the meeting that they had decided to go another direction and that "my job" was no longer available. I was shocked. I felt that I had been misled. It hurt. So I returned to another year of teaching only to find out that the state was considering a new retirement incentive that would make a major improvement in my retirement plan. So that extra year made it possible for me to retire a year later without the necessity to start another job. I would have missed that if I had taken the job that I really thought I wanted. And, in addition, as I've watched what has happened to the job that I wanted, I am so thankful that I didn't get it. I have no doubt today that God was in that definite disappointment and I have no regrets. It is a constant reminder to me that God does have a plan for my life and His plan is always best. He makes our disappointments His appointments. Now if only Penn State can beat Minnesota ... but then again, it's only a football game.