The book is called Plan B "What Do You Do When God Doesn't Show Up the Way You Thought He Would?"
Wow! Did that hit you like it did me the first time I read it?
What is Plan B? Plan B, is when something doesn't turn out the way you thought it would, and you have to revert to Plan B.
He talks about in the book how we've all had something in our lives that hasn't turned out quite how we imagined or thought it would.
Now, isn't that so true? If you think about your life, there's probably at least one thing that's happened to you that hasn't quite turned out like you thought it should. And, it's in those moments where you wonder where is God? What is he doing in all of this chaos?
I'll admit, my Plan B came in the form of getting laid off from my job last October and then losing our home as result of that lay off. All of a sudden I was 26 had no job and was about to loose the home my Husband and I worked so hard to have. All of a sudden things were happening to me that I didn't understand, that I never planned for and life was happening not the way I planned or imagined that it would. And, I was left with a lot of questions and wondering what life held for me now?
I never was angry at God, but I was furious at my boss who laid me off. Furious, that we did everything right when it came to real estate and now we were losing our home. Furious at some of my relationships because they weren't there for me when I needed them the most. I felt like a failure, felt like I had nothing left. And I had a lot of questions for God.
Over time and lots of months of counseling I was able to forgive those that were involved. But, never really was honest with myself and the process that Andrea needed to go through in order to find healing and peace.
Enter Plan B.
When I heard Pete Wilson's interview on the radio, it was a God moment for me. I knew I needed to read this book. I picked it up the day it was released and pretty much devoured every page. Making markings in the margins, underlining like crazy,praying and journaling every step of the way.
I felt like every page of that book was written just for me to read it. Page after page, I sat thinking this is for me.
This book forced me to ask and answer some tough questions. See, even though I forgave the right people that hurt me though out my job loss and stuff with our home, I never really looked at myself and asked myself, "What does Andrea need to do?"
"What was my responsibility in all of this?" See it's super easy to blame others that hurt us, for what's wrong in our lives. But, we don't always ask ourselves "How does God want to use us?" "What does he want to teach us about ourselves, as we go through this mess?"
Those were the questions that I so desperately needed to ask myself, and answer.... honestly this time.
Reading this book opened up a door really for God to speak into my life. For him to teach me somethings about myself, about what he wants me to learn and take away from the whole situation.
People say all the time,
"Why do bad things happen to good people?"
And, the truth is I don't know. But, I do know that we have a choice as believers, a choice to react in one way or another. What we can control is our response to the things that happen to us. We can choose to learn from it.
Reading Plan B, helped me see all of this. It helped me open myself up a little bit more and allow God in to work on the areas that I didn't know I needed healing from until I really started reading this book. I thought it was all about the people who hurt me, but really it is all about ME and what God wants to teach me and remind me of in all this.
So while still to this day I can't answers all the why questions when it comes to my own Plan B, I do know now that God allowed this to happen to teach me things and bring me to a better place in HIM.
One thing that God has taught me in all this, that's pretty amazing is that going through what I've gone through he's made me more sensitive and aware of people who are facing job loss, and foreclosure, short sales and everything else that this economy has crumbled. I never thought I'd be 26 and face being laid off, I never thought I'd find myself in a situation where I lost my home. But, God did. He knew.
And, now he's taking all that tragedy and giving me a new voice, and a new perspective to help others who are now going through that. Just today, I got an email from a friend who is facing foreclosure on her home. I was able to give her some words of encouragement as she goes through this storm in her life and asks probably a lot of the same questions I did.
And, if that's what how God can use me and work through me all that I've been through was worth it.
If you're currently facing a Plan B, or your Plan B has already happened and maybe your "stuck" like I was then I highly suggest you pick this book up and let it be healing for you. Take it as the opportunity that God needs to get your attention.
If a book could change your life, I would dare to say that this book changed mine.
PlanB Promo from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.
If you would like more info on Plan B visit the site here, where you can download the first chapter for FREE and read for yourself. For more info on Pete Wilson, click here. If you'd like to buy a copy of Plan B, click here.
