Plan B

Several weeks ago I stumbled upon a blog that I just have to share with all of you. WARNING though- don’t even think about clicking over to the site unless you have a couple of hours to read. I read the whole blog, start to finish, a couple of times, and it is breathtaking. It is written by Angie Smith, wife of musician Todd Smith from "Selah". She began blogging when she was pregnant with her fourth baby girl Audrey. At 20 weeks she was told that the baby had a number of fatal congenital problems. Despite the odds, they followed through with pregnancy, until Audrey’s birth this last April. She lived for 2 hours and 37 minutes before she was born into Heaven, but left a lasting legacy for thousands of blog readers. You will cry, and I doubt you will ever look at life or God the same. The site is www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com.

Cross Point Community church in Nashville, interviewed them and actually did a series about their faith. They called it “Plan B” and it is actually posted on Youtube. I sat down an watched it last week and found it intriguing. Their pastor, asks the question at the very beginning- What is your plan B? Those of you who know me, know that I always have a plan B. And even a plan C. I am a planner. When I have a plan, I am in Type A Heaven. I always have plan for my week, a night out, every grocery shopping. It is how I control an uncontrollable world. However, I found myself trying to find the answer to that question, until it came to me on a late night drive home from the hospital on Tuesday night- I am living Plan B. At 24 years old, my life is no where close to what I thought it would be. I am not doing what I planned on when I was a kid or in college. I planned on being a teacher, getting married, and having kids of my own. I did not plan on doing anything particularly extraordinary. I didn’t really even want some awesome career- it simply didn’t even occur to me. But, plan B prevails. Lucky for me, my Plan B is actually turning out to be better than I thought. Yes, there have been some tears along the way. Times that I have been completely angry with God. Times that it simply seems unfair. However, Angie says something poignant in an interview- “It might have our plan B, but it was never God’s.” Frustrating, but true. And if I am honest, I have to say that back when I was so busy planning these years between 20 and 30, I never really asked Him what the plan was.I just assumed. And we all know how that joke goes.

This week I did something eventful. I signed up for the National Bone Marrow Registry. I have a soft spot for the oncology kids at Dell Children’s so the idea had occurred to me before. My sister’s nephew will need a transplant, and while we certainly hope his brother or parents will be a perfect match for him, I couldn't help but shake the “what if” thoughts. There are thousands of precious kids just like him, who need donors. Did you know that if every person that was eligible offered to donate there would more than enough? And it is so easy! Not even a blood test. They simply swab the inside of the cheek and poof, you are done! Here is how it works: once you are on the national registry you remain there unless you become ineligible or decide not to donate. Doctors look for people who could be a potential match. Many people might be contacted for further testing (blood test) to determine who is the BEST match. They say you odds of being chosen even after you are contacted is still only about 1/12. (So most people are NEVER selected as a donor.) I definitely think it should be a carefully made decision- you would not want to back out for personal reasons after giving hope to a family. However, I encourage everyone to think about becoming a donor. The risks and and pain are minimal. If you would do it for your child, your best friend, or your nieces or nephew, why not someone elses? Please prayerfully consider donating! For more information, check www.marrow.com.

Have a wonderful week,
Juli