You Plan, God Laughs: When Life Forces a Reset You Didn’t Ask For
I’d love to say I had a perfectly crafted plan for this podcast episode (linked below) or this blog post…
I didn’t.
In fact, the irony is that this episode, recorded on my phone after multiple tech failures, perfectly embodies its title: You plan, God laughs.
Because sometimes, life doesn’t gently redirect you. Sometimes it pulls the rug out from under you and says, start again.
And if 2025 taught me anything, it’s that no amount of planning can protect you from seasons that are meant to reshape you.
When Stability Is Everything…And Then It’s Gone
One of my deepest values has always been stability.
Growing up without consistent emotional safety wired me to crave it.
In my home, My finances. My routines. My relationships.
And for a while, I had built that stability for myself in Dallas. I had my own place. My bills were paid. I felt safe coming home.
Then everything changed.
A layoff. An unexpected move. A return to my parents’ house…a place filled with both privilege (because I had a home to go back to) and emotional complexity (aka: trauma). It was a decision made reluctantly, knowing it would challenge my mental health, but also recognizing it was the most responsible option available.
Two things can be true at once:
You can be grateful for support in your life
And still grieve the life you were building when it all changes overnight
Both deserve acknowledgment.
Survival Seasons Aren’t Creative Seasons
One of the hardest realizations I had in therapy was this:
When you’re in survival mode, creativity is not the priority.
And yet, I had been judging myself for not showing up here with y’all. I was not podcasting, or creating, or feeling inspired. My nervous system was just trying to stay afloat.
That shame lifted when I allowed myself to name the season I was in…honestly.
I was surviving.
And survival requires rest, support, and structure. Slowing down. Grace.
What Routine Gave Me When Everything Else Felt Uncertain
When life feels chaotic, routine becomes regulation.
So I rebuilt my world in small, controllable ways:
I redesigned my room to feel like a sanctuary (hello, burgundy walls and ceiling!)
I found familiar places in my new (and old) town: coffee shops, nail salons, the gym
I committed to therapy once a week
I doubled down on practices that grounded me
And eventually, that grounding led me somewhere unexpected: Pilates teacher training. Lol!
What started as a curiosity became a lifeline. Teaching, moving my body, and showing up consistently gave me something to anchor to and something predictable to lean on when everything else felt uncertain.
Healing Isn’t Avoiding Patterns, It’s Leaving Them Sooner
One of the most validating moments in therapy came when my therapist pointed out something important:
Healing doesn’t mean you never encounter misalignment again. It means you recognize it faster. And you leave sooner.
That was true in a recent relationship I walked away from. The difference wasn’t that the situation was new. The difference was that I honored myself quicker than in previous situations.
Growth doesn’t always look glamorous. Sometimes it looks like quiet self-respect.
When Plans Fall Apart, Bigger Lives Can Emerge
There are seasons when your plans don’t fail because they were wrong, but because they were too small.
And sometimes the Universe, God dismantles your vision so you can build something wilder, more aligned, and more expansive than what you originally imagined.
That doesn’t make it easy though…
Sitting in the In-Between Without Rushing the Next Chapter
Right now, I don’t have all the answers.
I don’t know where I’ll land next. I don’t know what the final shape of this chapter will be. And for someone who loves certainty, that’s uncomfortable.
But I’m learning that stillness isn’t failure.
This season is asking me, and maybe you, to stop rushing the next version of ourselves and allow clarity to arrive in its own time.
You Didn’t Fail. You’re Being Repositioned.
If your year didn’t look the way you planned or if you had to start over or if you’re sitting in grief, confusion, or uncertainty…
Hear this:
You didn’t fail.
You’re being repositioned.
And often, the chapters that humble us most are the ones that prepare us for the greatest expansion.
Here’s to trusting what’s unfolding, even when God laughs at our plans.
