The "One Thing": does God have "A" plan for you?

To say that God has a singular, perfect plan for you, and that all you have to do is find it and follow it, sounds a lot like trust. It sounds like the sort of thing a good parent would do: set out the best possible future for you, and make sure you end up there.
But that image implies another. What if you can’t find the plan? What if the parent is terrifyingly vague about what His plan actually is? Suddenly he’s not a good parent at all, but one who’s waiting for you to screw it all up, so that after you’ve made the Wrong Decision he can leap out and blame you for it, saying: You should have known better, and now you’re going to pay.
That’s not a good parent. That’s a cruel, vindictive control freak. But how many of us see God that way?

Great column from a blogger I'm just checking out: Steve Gershom at "Catholic, Gay and Feeling Fine, Thanks".