I am a planner. To be honest, I am a tad bit OCD when it comes to planning. Just ask my friends. A few years ago there was a group of us that decided to go on a cruise together. You can’t just go on a cruise. This sort of thing requires LOTS of planning. I accepted the challenge and appointed myself as the official planner and travel agent for our trip. I researched the different cruise lines, read up on all the current passport requirements, looked up numerous locations and eventually booked the trip. I created a personal travel folder for each one of my friends. This folder contained EVERYTHING they would need for a successful vacation. There were maps, tickets, reading materials, schedules, and so much more! I was very proud of myself. We had an incredible time, but they all still tease me about the folders to this day. They also call me when they need to plan a trip.

My obsession with planning ahead started when I was a kid. I think it was my attempt to control the chaos going on in my head. I knew precisely how I wanted my life to play out. After graduating from high school, I would move away and attend an acting school. I had my mind set on London or New York. I would meet the woman of my dreams and blah, blah, blah. It all ends with me being famous and having tons of kids. Now that I am writing this, I think that perhaps Brad Pitt stole the life that I had planned for myself.

The unfortunate thing about plans is that you can never predict the problems. They just show up in the travel folder, and you are left to “re-route” the adventure. I had a couple of BIG problems in my travel folder:

Problem #1- Right after graduating high school I gave my life to God. Let me just clarify that I am not calling God a problem. He just seemed to have very different plans for me. Instead of attending acting school in London I was headed to Bible college in Missouri. Bible college does not typically lend itself to producing famous actors. I was okay with that though. My priorities changed along with my heart, and I did not care about being famous anymore. Problem #1 solved.

Problem #2- I was in NO WAY attracted to women (not even Angelina Jolie), so the “woman of my dreams” thing seemed a bit far-fetched. That also put a kink into the “tons of kids” part of the plan. This problem would take a little more time and effort to solve.

For the most part, I was typically very guarded about who I talked to about Problem #2. I would always feel things out a bit before broaching the topic. You would think that Bible college would be a safe place to talk about struggles and temptations. Surely people studying for ministry would be understanding and compassionate. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I heard more gay jokes my first semester of Bible college than I heard in 4 years of high school. Bible college was not going to be my safe place. Okay… maybe Problem #2 required professional help.

Most colleges and universities have a counselor or Psychologist on staff. My school was no exception. I made an appointment with the Resident Psychologist and just knew that I was finally going to rid myself of these horrible thoughts that were messing up my plan. He was very compassionate, and I could tell that this was not his first encounter with a real live gay person. He told me about this amazing group at a local church that was made for people like me. I cannot express the level of relief I felt to know that I was not alone in dealing with this. He set up a private meeting for me to speak with the man who led this ‘miracle’ group. A man that had been healed from homosexuality. I was pumped! Future wife, here I come.

I met this man and his wife at a restaurant. The fact that he was married was a good sign. Maybe I could solve Problem #2 before my sophomore year. They asked me to share my story, and they shared theirs as well. My hope quickly fizzled as I listened to them talk about their marriage. We clearly had a different understanding of the word “healed.” For me, healed meant no longer being attracted to men. For them, healed meant no longer acting upon those feelings. I was not acting upon my feelings now,  how in the world was this healing? They went on to talk about the daily struggles and all the pain in their lives. They referred to this problem as their “thorn in the flesh.”

“Thorn in the flesh” was a reference to 2 Corinthians 12:6-8. In this verse, Paul talks about a messenger of Satan that is sent to torment him to keep him humble. Basically, it is something that Paul will deal with until his dying breath. Paul pleads with God to remove this thorn but to no avail. God responds with, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). No one knows what Paul’s thorn was. It may have been a physical ailment, such as problems with his sight or an emotional issue like depression.

I left that dinner defeated. I left angry. I would not live my life pretending that everything was okay, praying every day for God to help me feel attracted to my wife. I could not accept this “thorn.” I pleaded with God just as Paul had done so many years ago, “Give me another thorn God. Any thorn but this one!”

I was not meant to live my life alone. The thought of never having a family was like a knife in my chest. I knew in my head that God’s grace was sufficient, but my heart was shattered. Regardless, I was determined to overcome this. I would do whatever I needed to do to live victoriously.

I attended the ex-gay group. I honestly do not remember what group it was. Something along the lines of Exodus or Homosexuals Anonymous. It was nice to meet other people who were going through the same thing as I was, but it was not the group for me. It only took me a few meetings to discover that this group was more of an awkward, gay, speed-dating venue than a ministry.

The whole “ex-gay” thing always puzzled me anyway. Whose idea was it to take a bunch of sexually frustrated gay men and lock them in a room together? “There. That ought to fix them.” This may work for others, but it was not the answer for me.

I decided that I would just pray my way straight. I would just continue to beg God for healing. I would be as relentless as toddler in a grocery store begging for a treat. Eventually, God would get sick of my incessant whining and just give in. So I prayed. If there was an altar call after church, I was the first one there. If there was a prayer group formed in my dorm, I joined. After many years, I discovered that God is much more tenacious than the frustrated parent in the checkout line at Wal-Mart. He was not giving in. Not even a little bit.

I never got the answer that Paul did when he pleaded with God. Either God could not heal me or He was simply choosing not to. What if God was not changing my orientation because to do so would be admitting that He made a mistake? What if He made me this way? What if this “thorn” isn’t a thorn after all?

I had so many questions, and it would be many years before I would start getting any answers. Too bad I did not get things all figured out in Bible college. It sure would have saved me years of heartache. I am sure that God had His reasons for making me wait. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD” (Isaiah 55: 8, ESV).

Sometimes God’s definition of healing is vastly different than ours. Sometimes He answers our prayers, and we are just too stubborn to see it. Sometimes that “thorn” starts to bud and ends up being a rose.

The plan I had for my life turned out different than I expected. It’s amazing the things you can learn and experience when you let go of all the planning and let God control the journey. We just need to hand the planning folder over to Him and trust that He knows best. It’s alright to ask questions along the way, just make sure that you are listening for the answers.

I am still far from being a famous actor, and I don’t have the wife of my dreams. I ended up with something even better… but that’s a story for another day.