It included creating a perfect world, perfect living creatures, perfect food, perfect environment and a perfect man with whom to commune.Β Included in His plan was to create a perfect woman for His perfect man, and enjoy the goodness of all He made.Β It was perfect in every way.
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Of course, if we believe God knew ahead of the fact it would all come crashing down with Adam and Eveβs disobedience in their perfect garden, we have to accept that even in the face of all He knew would happen, He did not abandon man or the plan altogether. Β Β
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Or maybe He even knew ahead of time His original plan would fail. Β After all, He did design man with a free will. Paradoxical as it is, He still chose to allow His creation to continueβalbeit greatly altered.
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Bewildering.
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But is it really?Β
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Would I, as a mere human, want to change the course of my life if I could see ahead? If I could see ahead horrible events in my future, would I chose not to exist at all?Β
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If I could know beforehand that I would lose a child to some debilitating, painful disease, would I choose not to birth that child into the world considering the good that often comes through such agonizing hardship?Β Maybe not.Β But then I donβt really know and I doubt anyone else does eitherβeven if they think or say they do.
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If I could know ahead of the fact that the man I chose to marry would be called into war and die an untimely death, would I still have chosen to marry him?Β
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Would I, if I could foresee my future spelled ongoing tragedy, loss, sorrow and constant struggle, choose not to born?Β Though I can not say for absolute certain having not experienced such, I think I would still choose to be.
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Part of me cannot even fathom God knowing all that would beβ¦ and yetβ¦ letting it be. Β
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But thereβs another part of me that can. Β
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On an almost infinitely smaller scale, I can imagine that if the attributes God created in manβin me: a longing to love and be loved, compassion, empathy, need for companionship, desire to please, appreciation for beauty, that non-substitutable familial bond, etc. etc. were the characteristics in Himself he yearned to reproduce in living beings he called His βchildrenβ, I can see how heβd want offspring. Isnβt that why most of us want children? To reproduce and enjoy the good, naturally-occurring genetic modifications we desire in ourselves? Β
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Would I have chosen not to include my 19 year old cousin, Jim, in my life If I could see ahead that he would be violently, tragically killed in a car accident, leaving behind a 17 year-old adoring, devastated bride of only 2 weeks to-the-hour he was killed?Β I would have to say, no.Β It was worth having him in my life, even with the agony of losing himβ¦ even if only for those short 19 years. Knowing him was a bright memory in my life, and losing him made me a more sensitive person.Β
Itβs a feeble comparison, but itβs enough for me to get a tiny grasp on what might have been in the mind of God when he continued with his plan to create manβeven knowing all he knew.
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Itβs a legitimate, probing question and one often pondered.Β
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So Godβs Perfect Plan A didnβt quite work out for Him as Heβ¦ well...He planned.Β But instead of trashing the whole idea altogether, He saw fitβmaybe it even pleased himβ¦
to settle for the βPlan Bβ He obviously crafted as the substitute.Β Perhaps that was one (of the many) prices He paid for allowing man a free will.Β
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Perhaps.Β But, I donβt have to know for sure.Β Simply contemplating the possibility is strangely comforting in the aftermath of my own failures.
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When my husband and I first married, I canβt say that we had a βPLANβper seβ other than the obviousβ to get married, get a place to live and eventually have kids.Β That was enoughβ¦at first.
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But later on, as we matured and began having childrenβ in rapid successionβ our whole perspective on life changed, then heightened with our move to Oklahoma.Β
Along with the change to a new state and home came many, many other changes.Β Our way of βdoing churchβ changed.Β Our community of family changed.Β Our values changed. Our core beliefs changed. Our standards changed. Our goals changed. And most significantly?
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Our influences changed.
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It was through those influences that we began formulating a βplanβ for rearing βidealβ children and becoming an βidealβ family.Β
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We literally were surrounded by families who claimed and appeared to have discovered the secret to bringing up the βGodly seedβ. What dedicated, novice, Christian parent wouldnβt want that?Β
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These people utilized very specific, no-fault formulas for accomplishing that end and as far as we could tell, the βproof of the pudding was in the makingβ.Β Their βformulasβ were working and we were the all-wondering eyes and earsrecruits.Β
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So we began incorporating those formulasβlittle by littleβ into our child-rearing practices with high and lofty expectations.
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And the process for our own βPlan Aβ venture was born.
Cindy Foster is βMomβ to eight gorgeous, talented, temperamental, noisy, opinionated, alike-but very different kids. She has been married to their daddy, Paul, for 36 years.
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