Shortly after being sent
on a training course
I received my first assignment –
an essay on theories of learning.

There followed an afternoon
of staring at a blank page
as I struggled to tackle
such an airy-fairy subject.

Then I remembered something –
a friend of mine had lent me
her notes for that same course.
Plan B began to form in my mind –
if I could read my friend’s essay,
I just might get an idea
of how to start writing
about this waffly topic!

With some sense of expectation
I opened my friend’s folder
only to find printed copies
of the lecturer’s notes,
identical to my own.
Not a single essay in sight!

I realised that I was well and truly
on my own –
there was no Plan B after all!

This all springs to mind
as I pray the Sorrowful Mysteries.
I’m thinking about
the Agony in the Garden,
you see.
Knowing His betrayal to be imminent,
Jesus has gone off on His own
to prepare Himself
for the torturous ordeal
that lies ahead.

As He prays,
Jesus’s anguish and torment
is so great
that even He resorts to
Plan B –
going to His closest friends
for comfort and reassurance.
Except …
when Jesus reaches His friends
He finds them all to be
fast asleep.

There is no Plan B
and Jesus is left to face His terrors
alone.

Life is so often like that –
Plan B simply isn’t
what it’s cracked-up to be
and we find ourselves
desolate and alone.

Except …
we’re not alone
because Jesus is always there
ready to help each one of us
with the challenges of life
if we only ask.

We can’t rely on Plan B –
but we can always rely on Plan God!

© Claire Murray, 3rd December 2023