Holy Plans, Holy Bubbles (by Michelle Van Loon)

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I’ve known a small handful of people who’ve had lives remarkably free from trial, reversal or loss. One woman I used to know had her entire life mapped out using the blueprint of the American Dream, Conservative Christian Version, from a very young age. Her life has gone pretty much the way she’d planned it: marriage, two kids, a dog, lovely suburban home, stable career, a bit of travel, a cozy group of friends. It was pretty amazing to witness over the years. If your life unfolds precisely as you’ve determined it would, there are two ways to respond. You either believe that you deserve the life you’re enjoying, or you can be humbled by it.

I haven’t known many who’ve walked through decades of life without picking up a few war wounds, but the ones I have known who have lived inside a blissed, blessed bubble usually carry a sense of entitlement about them by the time they hit midlife. In the case of the woman with the bulletproof plan, as the years went by she grew less and less compassionate toward the struggles of others. Though she said the right things, she’d also mix in enough sugar-covered snark to show her true feelings: If only the poor schmo had followed the proper formula, he or she wouldn’t be suffering now. When the apostle Paul urges his friends in Rome to weep with those who weep, he wasn’t advocating crocodile tears….

As I’ve researched and written about regret during the last year, I’ve heard again and again how meaningful spiritual and emotional growth is a particular challenge when you live your life inside that privileged bubble of blessing. Our faith communities need to remember that we’ll always have a few high performing “A+ student girls and boys” who color in the lines of the bubble. In God’s sovereignty, perhaps some are spared big trials during those years. But surprise! The bubble is not a reward, though it can be a particular temptation to add together a good grade in coloring within those lines with the sovereignty of God and end up with a sense of entitlement.