There's a scene from the TV show, Friends, where Joey and Phoebe are trying to show Ross and Rachel that they belong together by forming "a plan". And along with the plan, comes a plan laugh. It's one of those evil laughs. Here's the clip for anyone who can watch it: It's Not Santa's Plan
I've joked about it before, this "plan" of Heavenly Father's where he can just sit back and watch us fail and be miserable and laugh the whole time. Or those times when we think we know "the plan" only to discover that we know absolutely nothing at all...but Heavenly Father does. How he must sit up in Heaven, chuckling about what we think we know.
You would think that I'm going to write about our move, and our house, and our financial ruin, but I think it's going to take many, many years for me to say, 'A ha, Heavenly Father knew along what he was doing, and aren't I so glad he did?" Instead, it's easier for me to see this in the lives of my children, possibly because Heavenly Father doesn't test their faith as much as he tests us older, wiser folks....
Mark's freshman year, he was on fire in regards to horn playing. When John and I went to his freshman recital, he was the best, by far, and we had no doubt he was going places, and that he would ultimately live his lifelong dream of becoming a professional musician.
Our minds worried a bit when we left on his mission, because he would be lagging behind everyone else, and we knew it would take him some time when he came home to regain his chops. However, I believed that the Lord would bless him for serving a mission and that Mark would be able to overcome any loss from those two years and be even better.
He came home from his mission, and as John says, he was never the same. His horn playing never returned to what it was before his mission, and in fact got worse. He had mouth issues with his teeth that we tried to fix, but in the end, he had to give up the dream.
We were all devastated, John especially. We, as a family, had done so much to make this plan happen. The lessons, the driving, the practicing, Interlochen. Why would the Lord not bless Mark after he was willing to give up two years of his life in service to Him? And even more, why wouldn't He bless Mark for serving such a terribly difficult mission? Learning Russian, being cold nine months out of the year, getting punched in the face, dealing with government mistrust of missionaries--didn't Mark deserve the windows of heaven to open and pour out blessings?
He finished his degree in music as well as his Kennedy-mandated second degree in a language (which switched from German his freshman year to Russian post-mission). We were all thankful that he had a second degree, a "fall back" degree", and we started exploring career options. The best seemed to be a job with the CIA. The worst would be teaching Russian at a university.
Neither of these really appealed to Mark, so he decided to take some science classes, thinking that he could become a doctor. As Ethan told me the other day, he's come to appreciate how really smart the Kennedys are, and in my mind, I figured he could be like John. He could pass the classes and go to medical school, because let's face it, there will always be sick people which means there will always be a job.
Unfortunately, Mark's brain couldn't grasp Physics and Chemistry. Not that he failed the classes, but he wasn't going to have the GPA he would need for medical school. And this was just last summer with only one semester left of classes before he would graduate. One thing Mark was enjoying? Reading financial planning books. Yep, he found every one we owned (obviously gathering dust, looking at our checking account), and he blew through them...and liked them.
At this point, somewhere along the way, someone had an idea. A pretty good idea. I would like to think it was me, but I have so many ideas in regards to what the kids should do with their lives that he might have been someone else. But I think it was me. It went something like this: Mark, you should look into applying to business schools.
Now let me tell you--me saying that probably burned the souls of many a living businessman, much in the same way that people tell me their child "likes music" and is looking at going to music school. I'm sure there is so much involved in applying to business schools, and none of us had any idea. The only thing I heard (from Ethan, no less) was that business schools required 3-5 years of experience from an applicant before they would even consider them. There are probably classes that should be taken in undergraduate studies (none of which Mark had) and internships which should be worked (his Liden and Denz time in Latvia could be a big stretch for what business schools are looking for) and experience which should be gained (does reading "Rich Man, Poor Man" count?), but we knew nothing.
So Mark did some research and started applying.
I had the brilliant idea that he should go speak with Kim Cameron, a head honcho in Michigan's Ross Business School (and our stake patriarch). President Cameron was happy to speak to Mark but basically told him that he wouldn't have a chance getting into Ross. But he didn't feel all was lost--he told Mark that with his music degree and his Russian studies, he presented a very unique resume, one that some schools might find interesting.
Turns out (cue the "plan laugh"), schools ARE interested in Mark. Not only has he been accepted to every Russian Master's program to which he has applied, but he's already interviews with two business schools, and he has been conditionally accepted to the University of Illinois' business school (he needs to work a marketing internship this summer)! In other words, Markie Boy is going to business school!
And one of the best things about all of this? He'll have job security for the rest of his life, and he'll be making more money (and more easily supporting a family) than all of his musician friends. Not that this is a competition, but comparison is a reality because of what Mark was forced to give up.
I guess Heavenly Father had a plan. We couldn't understand why it wasn't what we thought it was, and it made no sense to see Mark struggling, but in the end it all works out.
And it's not Santa's plan :-)
I've joked about it before, this "plan" of Heavenly Father's where he can just sit back and watch us fail and be miserable and laugh the whole time. Or those times when we think we know "the plan" only to discover that we know absolutely nothing at all...but Heavenly Father does. How he must sit up in Heaven, chuckling about what we think we know.
You would think that I'm going to write about our move, and our house, and our financial ruin, but I think it's going to take many, many years for me to say, 'A ha, Heavenly Father knew along what he was doing, and aren't I so glad he did?" Instead, it's easier for me to see this in the lives of my children, possibly because Heavenly Father doesn't test their faith as much as he tests us older, wiser folks....
Mark's freshman year, he was on fire in regards to horn playing. When John and I went to his freshman recital, he was the best, by far, and we had no doubt he was going places, and that he would ultimately live his lifelong dream of becoming a professional musician.
Our minds worried a bit when we left on his mission, because he would be lagging behind everyone else, and we knew it would take him some time when he came home to regain his chops. However, I believed that the Lord would bless him for serving a mission and that Mark would be able to overcome any loss from those two years and be even better.
He came home from his mission, and as John says, he was never the same. His horn playing never returned to what it was before his mission, and in fact got worse. He had mouth issues with his teeth that we tried to fix, but in the end, he had to give up the dream.
We were all devastated, John especially. We, as a family, had done so much to make this plan happen. The lessons, the driving, the practicing, Interlochen. Why would the Lord not bless Mark after he was willing to give up two years of his life in service to Him? And even more, why wouldn't He bless Mark for serving such a terribly difficult mission? Learning Russian, being cold nine months out of the year, getting punched in the face, dealing with government mistrust of missionaries--didn't Mark deserve the windows of heaven to open and pour out blessings?
He finished his degree in music as well as his Kennedy-mandated second degree in a language (which switched from German his freshman year to Russian post-mission). We were all thankful that he had a second degree, a "fall back" degree", and we started exploring career options. The best seemed to be a job with the CIA. The worst would be teaching Russian at a university.
Neither of these really appealed to Mark, so he decided to take some science classes, thinking that he could become a doctor. As Ethan told me the other day, he's come to appreciate how really smart the Kennedys are, and in my mind, I figured he could be like John. He could pass the classes and go to medical school, because let's face it, there will always be sick people which means there will always be a job.
Unfortunately, Mark's brain couldn't grasp Physics and Chemistry. Not that he failed the classes, but he wasn't going to have the GPA he would need for medical school. And this was just last summer with only one semester left of classes before he would graduate. One thing Mark was enjoying? Reading financial planning books. Yep, he found every one we owned (obviously gathering dust, looking at our checking account), and he blew through them...and liked them.
At this point, somewhere along the way, someone had an idea. A pretty good idea. I would like to think it was me, but I have so many ideas in regards to what the kids should do with their lives that he might have been someone else. But I think it was me. It went something like this: Mark, you should look into applying to business schools.
Now let me tell you--me saying that probably burned the souls of many a living businessman, much in the same way that people tell me their child "likes music" and is looking at going to music school. I'm sure there is so much involved in applying to business schools, and none of us had any idea. The only thing I heard (from Ethan, no less) was that business schools required 3-5 years of experience from an applicant before they would even consider them. There are probably classes that should be taken in undergraduate studies (none of which Mark had) and internships which should be worked (his Liden and Denz time in Latvia could be a big stretch for what business schools are looking for) and experience which should be gained (does reading "Rich Man, Poor Man" count?), but we knew nothing.
So Mark did some research and started applying.
I had the brilliant idea that he should go speak with Kim Cameron, a head honcho in Michigan's Ross Business School (and our stake patriarch). President Cameron was happy to speak to Mark but basically told him that he wouldn't have a chance getting into Ross. But he didn't feel all was lost--he told Mark that with his music degree and his Russian studies, he presented a very unique resume, one that some schools might find interesting.
Turns out (cue the "plan laugh"), schools ARE interested in Mark. Not only has he been accepted to every Russian Master's program to which he has applied, but he's already interviews with two business schools, and he has been conditionally accepted to the University of Illinois' business school (he needs to work a marketing internship this summer)! In other words, Markie Boy is going to business school!
And one of the best things about all of this? He'll have job security for the rest of his life, and he'll be making more money (and more easily supporting a family) than all of his musician friends. Not that this is a competition, but comparison is a reality because of what Mark was forced to give up.
I guess Heavenly Father had a plan. We couldn't understand why it wasn't what we thought it was, and it made no sense to see Mark struggling, but in the end it all works out.
And it's not Santa's plan :-)
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