Dr. Ray Pritchard Christian Blog and Commentary

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Plan B Living

  • Dr. Ray Pritchard
    Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, an Internet-based ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 29 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain,… More
  • Published May 21, 2004

My wife happened to hear it on the radio while we were cutting across the edge of Georgia on our way from Tallahassee, Florida to Dothan, Alabama.  She scribbled it down so I could look at it later.   "The key to success in life is how well you adapt to Plan B."

There is a world of truth in that simple sentence.  So many of us go through life frustrated because we're still working on Plan A.  That's the one where everything works out, where your marriage lasts forever, where your children grow up without any problems, where you climb to the top of the career ladder, where everyone loves you and no one hates you, where all your dreams come true and you live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, Plan A never pans out.  Life isn't that simple, or that easy.  Meanwhile the people who are frustrated by the failure of Plan A are overtaken by the folks who have decided to make Plan B work instead.

What's Plan B?  It's the reality that your divorce is final and your marriage is over.  It's the reality that your first career choice was a mistake and now it's time to start over.  It's the reality that you don't have the money to buy the bigger house you want.  It's the truth that you have cancer and your future is uncertain.  It's the understanding that some people who seemed to be close friends aren't going to be there for you when you really need them.  It's the reality that you lost the election even through you were clearly the better candidate. 

Born in poverty and educated at home, he failed in his first business venture, ran for office the next year and was defeated, failed in yet another business, had a nervous breakdown, and was defeated in five more elections.   But he never gave up, and in 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected president. 

Plan A not working out for you?  Don't despair.  Plan A never works out.  Your success in life is largely determined by how well you adapt to Plan B.   Just ask Honest Abe, the greatest Plan B president in American history. 

 


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