The Best Laid Plans ........

   As I was walking the other morning, on a beautiful cloudless beginning of the day, I was finishing my stroll down the 5th fairway toward the condo, when I looked over at the green and the golf flag was lit up with the rising sun. Looking at it from different angles, I realized that this image would make a great picture, and told myself that, the next morning that looked like it might produce that same effect, I would take my camera and see if I could capture the it.

   This morning was the first one since that day that looked promising.  As I looked out early, the sky looked free of early clouds, and the time matched that of the previous day. Taking my camera in hand, I began my walk in the same direction, so as to be in the right spot at the right time.

   Thinking that I would get to my spot a little earlier, so as to catch the sun as it progressed from the top of the flag pole to the bottom, I took a short cut and proceeded to take a few preliminary shots so as to get the angle I wanted. I took a few, moved locations and took a few more, but the sun did not cooperate.

   After I played with the settings on the camera a few times, deciding on the best ones to use, I realized that I was not going to get the shot that I had seen, and wondered why.

   I had chosen the right atmospheric conditions, had come out at the right time, the sun had cooperated and come up on schedule, the light was that early morning golden hue, and I was in the right place. My plans had come about as I wanted, but the picture just was not there.

   Had the 3 days between the golden opportunity and the day I now stood in, changed the angle of the sun as it moved farther south toward summer? Had the tree changed its shape in order to block out the earlier angle?

   I made the right plan, but something happened. Maybe it was not supposed to be.

   My best shot of the morning was not the one I wanted.

 

   Then the thought hit me. I made a good plan, but someone changed the parameters. The greenskeeper had decreed a new pin placement for today and the hole and flag changed to a new place on the green, a place where the sun did not strike it in the same way. I forgot to put that in the plan.

   I was somewhat flexible, I did take some pictures, but my plan did not take into consideration that someone else had a plan also.

   Will my plans for today be flexible enough to take advantage of what God has in store this day?

   Maybe my picture plans will be fulfilled another day, or maybe not, but that is not always for me to say, is it?