I love planning. Whether it be a birthday dinner with friends, picking out Christmas presents months in advance, or even putting together a last minute shopping date, I love the feeling of putting something together and seeing it through. But with a love of planning also comes a hatred of when things don’t go to plan. Enter the Dublin Preclearance Office and several unexpected weeks of waiting. 

Back in March we kicked off the daunting preclearance process and dutifully gathered all of our documents and applications under Marianne’s guidance. Unfortunately because of the influx of applications upon reopening during the pandemic, this process didn’t go as quickly as hoped. Each Tuesday I would wake up and check the current processing times, cry for a while, then make plans for the weekend to visit friends and family with the “bonus time,” I had received. 

I was having one of those Tuesday morning tear-filled-I’m-never-going-to-get-approved-so-I-might-as-well-give-up-on-this lows when I picked up my phone to aimlessly scroll through Instagram and saw the quote: “A waiting season is not a wasted season,” and smiled in spite of myself. 

Here I was, crying that I was wasting time waiting to begin my ministry in Ireland, when I was doing anything but. In my last five weeks I’ve gotten to see my grandmother well on her way of recovery from breast cancer, visit one of my best friends in her new home, celebrate a birthday with a croquet tournament, catch the first home football game at my alma mater, visit with all of my older siblings and play with all of my nieces and nephews. I wouldn’t have gotten to enjoy any of these experiences had things gone according to plan as I hoped. 

But that’s the kicker—it’s not my plan that’s ultimately at work here, but our Heavenly Father’s. It may have taken a random Instagram post for me to get the message, but God has been telling us to trust in his plan all along. Jeremiah 29:11 reads, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God was never leaving me behind in Ohio as the first House of Brigid members arrived in Ireland and settled into their roles, there were simply other experiences He knew I needed to have before I was ready to go. 

We may not always understand His plans: I’m still waiting for an explanation for my three hour flight delay caused by a “mysterious odor” on board. But that’s exactly where faith comes in to fill in those gaps. Even though my preclearance approval and arrival date didn’t go according to my plan, I am grateful for my extra time at home and my safe travels to Wexford.

As I begin my year with House of Brigid, I hope that Ireland will teach me how to plan a little less and trust a little more.