Glimpsing the Future

A few weeks ago, at our supper meal, our children began talking about weddings and wedding receptions.  More accurately, my daughter Anna, was sharing her views on them.

"At my wedding reception, we'll (I guess that's the groom and her) have Pomeranian Rice,"  she told us.

"What's Pomeranian Rice?"  Elaine asked.

"Oh, you know, it's the rice that's sort of orange colored and you can eat it by itself,"  Anna said, in a statement that brought absolutely no clarity to the situation from my perspective.

"You mean Rice Pilaf?"  Elaine asked.

"Yes, that,"  Anna said.  "And then for a main dish, we'll have rice and beans.  To finish it all off, we'll have Rice Pudding!"

"Will that be enough?"  I asked.  Certainly this sounded like a relatively cheap reception meal, but I had a feeling the guests might end up grabbing a bite elsewhere afterwards.

"Well, we'll have cake too, and ice cream and punch,"  Anna said, with an air of finality.

"I don't want punch at my reception,"  Vince said.  "Everyone will drink water.  I don't like punch."  Vince doesn't like sweet drinks at all.

"But what if your bride wants punch?"  Anna asked him.

"She won't,"  Vince said flatly, as though that settled it.

The conversation moved on into other, equally odd directions, but I was left with an amusing glimpse of my children's vision of the future.  This image told me more about Anna's like of rice and Vince's dislike of punch, currently, than it did about anything that will really happen down the road.

Many people believe that they know what the future holds -- at least in some limited way.  They have plans for themselves and their families.  They have hopes and expectations based on these plans.

What I have discovered is that none of us knows the future.  We have our hopes and dreams, but the future remains an uncertain mess.

The best thing is to give all of these hopes and dreams to God.  For He has His own plans for us -- plans for good and not for ill.  Though those plans might lead us through hard times, in the end, they will far exceed anything we could imagine in scope and in the wonder they will bring to our lives.