When Plans Fall Apart

Hi, welcome back. You’re listening to Becoming the Oak: Rooted in Christ. I’m your host, Kendra George, and I’m so happy to have you here.

This podcast is for women who want to experience more joy and more support by rooting themselves in Jesus Christ.

Today is a solo episode, and I want to share an experience I recently had.

In this episode:

• Learning to trust God’s timing when life doesn’t go according to plan

• How disappointment can lead to deeper faith and spiritual growth

• Why we must stop resisting reality and choose acceptance

• The power of stillness and inviting Christ into difficult moments

• How all things can work together for your good when you trust Him

Before I get into the story, I want you to think about life as a puzzle.

Have you ever looked at the things going on in your life and thought, what is actually happening right now?

It feels like puzzle pieces are coming in randomly—one shows up in the top corner, another drops in the middle—and you’re left wondering how any of it connects.

I’ve felt like that so many times.

When I started health coaching, I thought, this is it. This is the path. But then I would get impressions to shift focus. Then the idea of a podcast would come. Then thoughts about working with youth.

And suddenly, I felt completely scattered.

The clarity wasn’t there.

As I kept moving forward, I’ll be honest—it was hard to trust the process.

I remember thinking:

How am I supposed to make all of this work when I feel so unclear about where the Lord wants me to be?

There were disappointments.
There were challenges.
There were moments where I thought, there’s no way I can do all of this.

And it reminded me of the story of Joseph in Egypt.

Joseph’s life was full of moments that didn’t make sense.

He was thrown into a pit.
Sold into slavery.
Falsely accused.
Thrown into prison for years.
Forgotten by people he helped.

I can’t imagine Joseph was thinking, Wow, everything is working out perfectly.

But every single one of those moments was a puzzle piece.

And eventually, those pieces came together to save his family and an entire people.

I recently had an experience that brought this lesson home for me.

My daughter had been preparing all semester for a cultural dance performance at school. She loves Latino dancing and had put so much time and effort into it.

I decided I was going to surprise her and show up.

Everything was planned.

But the morning I was supposed to leave—it started snowing.

At first, I wasn’t worried. It was March. The snow was wet. I thought, this will be fine.

It wasn’t.

On the way to the airport, I got a notification:
My flight was canceled.

I thought, okay, no problem—there will be another flight.

There wasn’t.

Not that day. Not the next morning. Nothing that would get me there in time.

So then we thought, we’ll drive.

But the two mountain passes we needed to take?
Both closed.

There was literally no way for me to get there.

I had to call my daughter and tell her I wasn’t coming.

And I had a really hard time with it.

I was disappointed. Really disappointed.

I had done everything I could to make it work.

And in that moment, I remembered a quote by Byron Katie:

“When you argue with reality, you lose—but only 100% of the time.”

I realized I couldn’t argue with what was happening.

The weather made it impossible.

And the more I resisted it, the more frustrated and upset I became.

So I had to stop and say:

It is what it is.

In that moment, I turned to my Savior.

And instead of asking why, I said:

I don’t understand… but I need You to sit with me in this.

That changed everything.

The disappointment didn’t immediately go away.

But I felt peace.

The next day, it was sunny and beautiful.

And I remember thinking:

I could be with my kids right now.

I even felt frustrated again.

But at the same time, there was this quiet, steady feeling:

You’re not supposed to be there.

I can’t fully explain it—but I knew it was true.

This experience brought a scripture to mind:

“The Spirit speaketh the truth… of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be.”

I didn’t need all the answers.

I just needed to trust that God sees what I can’t.

Another scripture that came to me was:

“All things work together for good to them that love God.”

And I had to ask myself:

Do I actually believe that?

Can I look at a disappointing situation and say:

Good.

There’s a powerful idea taught by Jocko Willink—and I’ll link it in the show notes.

He talks about responding to challenges with one word:

Good.

Didn’t get what you wanted? Good.
Facing a challenge? Good.

Because it opens the door to growth.

My husband shared this with our family and said:

“Attach this to your faith that God is in control… and you’re in a fantastic place.”

And he’s right.

Now, I know that can feel hard.

You might be thinking:

Kendra, you don’t understand what I’m going through.

And you’re right—your situation may be heavier.

But if saying good turns you toward Jesus Christ…

what more could you ask for?

There’s a scripture that says:

“Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power… then stand still… to see the salvation of God.”

We do what we can.

And then we trust.

We let God put the puzzle together.

One of my favorite hymns says:

“Be still, my soul… Thy God doth undertake to guide the future as He has the past.”

Even when things feel confusing…

Even when they don’t make sense…

God is guiding it.

My disappointment was real.

But I know God is working things together for my good.

There was a reason I couldn’t go.

I may not see it now—but I trust that one day, I will.

So whatever you’re facing right now, I want to leave you with this:

Use your disappointments as stepping stones.

Say good.

Trust God.

He sees the whole puzzle.

You’ve got this.

Until next time—

Be still.
Believe.
Become.