Wait! I Have a Plan!

JUNE 10, 2016 

Many years ago, after having had one very precious son, and having experienced a very emotionally painful miscarriage, Blake and I prayed one night that the Lord might give us another son. His answer to us was, “Wait. I have a plan!” And so, reluctantly we waited. And soon, I conceived and gave birth to a beautiful, charming son with stars in his eyes! And we were so glad that God asked us to wait for THIS child!! For he was the happiest, most captivating little soul, bringing us so much delight, laughter, smiles, and joy!

But then it seems that at about 8 months old God said, “Wait! I have a plan!” And that’s when God decided to infuse into this child a will stronger than iron and a spirit that cried, “Go forth to conquer all!” The extreme measure of both his charm and his mischief caused me to cry out in anguish, “Please tell me Oh God that you did not choose me to be the mother of the Antichrist!” One minute he was hiding under cars playing with matches that I would swear to you did not exist in the house, and the next he was gazing into my eyes, caressing my face, saying thoughtfully and tenderly, “Mama, You’s my queen!” I wrote in my journal that it was a very good thing that this child was so charming or I would surely have sent him back to wherever he came from!!! But God said, “Wait, I have a plan.”

And so we waited as the smiles and charm, together with the strong will to conquer were fused and channeled. And we watched as a man emerged from this child, full of strength, determination, purpose, integrity, character, and undeterred tenacity.

And we were glad we waited instead of putting him back!

He soon grew into a 6’4”, 250 lb. tight end with a vision to assist the AU Tigers in conquering the Bama Elephants and every other team in the nation. And God said, “Okay!”

And so, donning his championship ring, he reached the threshold of his dream to show the world what he could do as an AU Tiger.

But God said, “Wait! I have a plan!” And God infused into him a higher and nobler vision and required him to strip himself of the temporary glory of being a beloved football player for his favorite team on earth for the cause of serving his fellow man with the healing touch of God. He was asked to die to his former dream and to live to God’s. Few will ever know the heart of obedience that was required to lay down a dream that had burned in him since childhood. And yet...as obedience won out, the former passion was abundantly replaced with a more solid and enduring passion; to be and do what God had ordained for him.

And so, with his face set like flint, the young man set out to follow the vision and conquer the world of academia. And conquer he did! But it seemed too late, for the schools of medicine were reluctant to take him in. And once more, God said, “Wait! I have a plan!”

So we all waited as his own iron will, indeed his very person was melted down to become soft and pliable and ready for the Potter’s hand. As humility, gentleness, submission, and dependence on the One with the plan were being seared into his being, he continued to study, to teach other students at the university, to pray, and to trust.

Many told him to give up the vision, to teach, to follow a different path. (Did they know who they were talking to??? “Give up”??? to the man whose will is made of iron???) No, he knew that the vision had been implanted within his soul by a greater force than his own mind! And so, he waited. “My confidence is in the Lord,” he said.

Some time before finishing a Master’s Degreee in Bio-Medical Science, he was again denied to the School of Medicine for the 5th time. And once again, God said, “Wait! I have a plan!” And God sent a former AU All-American, NFL star turned physician to hire him to assist in his orthopaedic practice where he would be mentored by the best; where he learned to run a medical office efficiently; where he learned to walk in the shoes of a staff member in a medical practice; where he acquired personal skills that can never be learned in a classroom; where he made friendships that will last a lifetime; where a love for orthopedics grew within him, and most importantly where he met and fell in love with a beautiful young woman who would become his wife.

Yes, God’s “waits” are full of wisdom!

Today, after many years of waiting, working, sacrificing, praying, trusting, humbling himself, and working some more, he is sitting at this moment in a classroom at UAB School of Medicine! Today, God has said, “The wait is over. You have excelled in the classroom of life, now enter into the school of knowledge.”

This wait is over, but if I had my guess, it will not be the last! Oh no! The story of our son’s life has only just begun today.

The full plan is yet to be seen as to what will become of the man who has learned to patiently wait on the Lord. But this we know: ‘They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength! They will mount up with wings as EAGLES!” And for an AU Tiger, it just doesn’t get any better than that!!

Fly high, my son! And may the wind be always beneath your wings!

Written by: Bonnie Isbell

July 30,2012

Addendum: Today, March 17, 2016, Jon Isbell and Callie Wiginton Isbell will attend an Alpha Omega Alpha dinner where he will be honored for having received the highest honor a Med School student can achieve. He knows where all the glory belongs and we are all careful to lay it down at the feet of the One whose plans are always perfect! May his story inspire so many others to wait on the Lord, to trust in Him, and to place their confidence in His plan!

“We can make our plans, but THE LORD determines our steps.” Proverbs 16:9