The apostle Paul was an amazing person. He wrote most of the New Testament and helped spread the Gospel to the farthest parts of the known world in the first century. He was an ambitious young man who early on was seeking to make a name for himself as a persecutor of Christians. His career was all coming together until one day on the road to Damascus he heard Jesus saying, “Saul, why do you persecute me”? Seems God had another plan for Saul, who would become Paul, the apostle.
Sometimes in life we are going one direction until God steps in and turns us around and points us a different way. Often, we are initially disappointed our old plans didn’t work out until we discover God had something much better in mind.
The wonderful actress and singer, Julie Andrews, can attest to that. As talented as she is, she hasn’t always gotten all the parts she wanted. When she was just 20 years old, she accepted the role of Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady which debuted on Broadway in 1956. The show was a smash hit. It won Best Musical and Rex Harrison, who played Prof. Henry Higgins, won a Tony for best actor in a musical and Julie was nominated for best actress in a musical. She had worked so hard to create this role of the cockney flower girl. It’s said that director Moss Hart worked for two solid days with Julie… hammering out each scene to the point that Julie would later write, “…the role became part of my soul.”
After her run in My Fair Lady ended, Julie Andrews went on from one success to another. Composer Richard Rogers wrote a part just for her in the TV production of Cinderella in 1957. In 1960, she was cast on Broadway as Queen Guinevere in Camelot with Richard Burton.
It was about the same time that Warner Brothers Studio was making plans to cast the film adaptation of My Fair Lady. Rex Harrison would reprise his role in the movie but Julie was passed over and film star Audrey Hepburn was cast as Eliza Dolittle. Some speculated that Andrews did not have the name recognition to star in a major motion picture. She was a star on Broadway but not in Hollywood. It was also said that studio boss Jack Warner had asked Julie Andrews to do a screen test and Julie replied, “You’ve seen me do the part and know I can do a good job.” Warner was said to be furious and then offered the role to Hepburn.
Julie was crushed when she did not get the role she had created. As fate would have it, she was offered another movie role… Mary Poppins. At the Oscars in 1965, My Fair Lady swept most of the major awards, except for one. When Best Actress was announced… the award went to Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins.
Jeremiah tells us, God knows the plans He has for us… plans to give you hope and a future. When the path is not clear, trust God to guide you a different way.
– Rev. Dave Poteet, Pastor of Congregational Care
