A Change of Plans

Last May, a routine “Are-you-on-your-way-home-from-work-yet?” call to Mike turned my uneventful Tuesday afternoon into a major turning point for the Mercado family’s life.

It’s practically a law of nature that life just doesn’t go as planned… even when it seems a coin toss has already decided your fate. You may recall that last April, Mike was assigned to be an alternate for his colleague who was chosen to deploy to Afghanistan (see “Heads or Tails” for the story). As an alternate, Mike still walked around with the cloud of possible deployment over his head, not convinced that he was in the clear until someone physically left on a plane to Afghanistan. I thought it was just his pessimistic side coming out. But maybe that was God’s way of preparing him, and me, for the news that would eventually push Mike’s cloud to bear precipitation.

Just 2 days before our trip to CA, we learned that there had been a change of circumstances for Mike’s colleague who was now unable to deploy …and we knew it meant that Mike must go in her place. That brief phone conversation on Tuesday opened an emotional floodgate, filling me with disbelief, disappointment, and devastation, especially with Max and the new baby at the forefront of my mind. Praise God for giving us a getaway to CA to absorb the shock!

Since then, I’ve taken advantage of quiet times alone to process my own thoughts and feelings about Mike’s deployment and the implications for each member of our family. Through meditation and journaling, talking with God, and reading His Word, I’ve come to a place of acceptance and peace. It’s also been encouraging to talk with family and friends and be reminded of His sovereignty and His goodness. In fact, the only thing that abates any feelings of anger, doubt, or resentment is knowing that He holds the whole universe in His hands (Psalm 8:3-4) and that things happen for a divine purpose (Romans 8:28).

After much prayer and family discussion, we made the decision to relocate temporarily back to CA while Mike is deployed. I’ll be staying with my parents in Bakersfield and will return to Guam with Max and the baby tentatively by next summer.

So here we go on another Mercado adventure, taking a step in a new direction.

In his heart a man plans his course,

but the LORD determines his steps.

--Proverbs 16:9