“If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? Otherwise, when you have laid the foundation but couldn’t finish the tower, all who see it will begin to belittle you. They will say, ‘Here’s the person who began construction and couldn’t complete it!’” (Luke 14:28-30, CEB).

               I pose the question because I am a planner. As a child, I used to align my Legos in neat groups before I’d build any new structure. One group was for the foundation. Another other group was to construct the walls. A third group would be utilized for the roof.

               I am no different today.  I like to plan my sermon series a year in advance. (However, my wife would be greatly appreciative if my plans included taking the trash out more often.)

                I am grateful for Jesus’ parable about one’s need to estimate the cost before putting a shovel into the ground. As the old saying goes, those who fail to plan plan to fail. Building materials, labor wages, and code requirements must be calculated to ensure the successful completion of a new home.

               However, back to the initial question I asked. How does one distinguish the act of fretting for the future with planning for the future? Well, for one thing, fear is the knee-jerk reaction people often have when they feel out of control. The reality is that none of us can predict what will happen in the days to come. Many of life’s circumstances are out of our control. Just ask those who have been diagnosed with cancer. They will likely tell you that they didn’t foresee such a dreadful thing happening to them.

              Planning, however, is the capacity to exert some measure of control over the future. Planning doesn’t guarantee that the outcome will look exactly as one initially imagined. Life tends to throw us curve balls. However, those who make plans also plan for some measure of contingency. They tend not to fret over what may happen because they recognize that more often than not something unforeseen will happen.

               I’ve never been sailing before, but I like the concept. Those who sail typically have a destination in mind. Yet, they also know that the winds will most likely shift at some point along the journey. A good seafarer knows how to tack the sails of her craft in order to keep moving purposefully ahead.

               Persons within the twelve-step community have learned the art of tacking through life, as well. The prayer of those who struggle with addiction is one that any of us would do well to keep in our tackle box. The prayer of Reinhold Niehbuhr combines the balancing act between seizing control of life when one can and peacefully accepting those moments when life is beyond our control:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things that I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

May the wind always be at your back and the sun shine warmly on your face. Amen.