Change of plans

"And we know that for those who love God ALL things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

~Romans 8:28~

I can vividly remember this night 10 years ago. I was 17, a high school senior, and a band nerd who was super excited that I would get to miss early morning band practice to go to See You at the Pole at my school. My friends and I were pretty involved at my church and we were already looking forward to the following night's See You at the Pole Rally where we were gathering to celebrate and report on the day. I had plans to go with some friends and meet several others there. I was probably responsible for making sure my sister got there too. She was a freshman at the time and I'm guessing that I probably thought it was totally un-cool to have to take her with me. 

The morning came and went and after school I was helping my Dad set up our new computer (I've been a fan of technology for a while now). When my friend who was supposed to ride with me called to say that she had changed her mind about going to the rally I decided that I could take it or leave it and convinced my sister that we should just stay home. Less than an hour later we were standing in our living room listening to Channel 8 interrupt Wheel of Fortune to bring the breaking news that there had been a shooting at Wedgwood Baptist Church. Shock...confusion...disbelief...fear...you name it, we were experiencing it. Not really knowing what to do, we got in the car and drove up to the church. I remember seeing helicopters flying overhead and thinking that the glow of emergency lights could probably be seen for miles.

The rest of the night is a bit of a blur, but I do clearly remember my sister being certain that her good friend, Cassie, was one of the ones shot. She hadn't been told that by anyone, she just knew it somehow. We were first told that she had indeed been shot but she was one of the ones who was taken to the hospital. By the next morning we learned that was a mistake and she was one of the seven killed that night.

It was a very rough few days that followed. It was an out-of-body experience for sure. I struggled with the fact that I wasn't there that night for a really long time afterwards (backwards thinking I know), but God has used that experience to show me how deeply He knows me and how involved He is in my life, even down to the very tiniest of details. Once all the police investigations had concluded there were hundreds of examples of God's sovereignty.

I was able to go to Wedgwood last night for a special service to remember what happened 10 years ago. It was a neat experience to see so many people that I haven't seen in 10 years, to worship at the church I grew up at, to remember to take every day and make the most of it. Even when life is flat-out unexplainable, God is still God and He's got it all figured out.

Somewhere along the way my plans for that night changed, but I'm more confident than ever that God's didn't.