plans & purpose

we were making plans for the long holiday weekend ahead & this was the tentative arrangement :

saturday - visit our muslim friends in celebration of the Raya & to savour the festive culinary spread, my personal favourite being the lemang/nasi hempit with beef rendang;

sunday - attend church, then go back home to my parents whom we last visited more than 2 months ago, and;

monday - the kids would certainly enjoy a day out at the mall, esp the girl who has a few girlie items on her shopping list.

then, like a bolt from the sky, we were shocked with the unexpected passing of a family member on the wife's side. as i couldn't take leave on such short notice, the wife took the kids on the next available flight back to penang while i will drive there tomorrow.

there are a lot of events happening around me that defies logic. like rugby (for me at least!). like nurin. like this sudden demise. but i do know the Wise Man had elaborated before :

there is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven,
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. eccles 3 :1,2,4,7

everything will occur at its own predestined moment - not earlier nor later, & according to The Grand Scheme of Things. what is obvious to me, is that had this occured last week, i would not have made it to the mission trip. however, what is NOT clear to me is, why the life of the youngest of siblings was taken away when there was still so much to live for? would it not be kinder had this taken place in later years or in a different manner?

i don't know the answers but my steadfast belief in divine intervention remains unshaken, despite this sudden turn of events. at the opportune moment, the secrets will be revealed & mysteries explained. for all i know now is this :

many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. prov 19:21

amen.