Distractions

It was the Saturday night before Palm Sunday. We went to bed around 11 p.m and I was thinking, "I get to sleep in a bit tomorrow." Our church suspended our Sunday School hour due to Spring Break so I gained an hour of sleep. At least this was my hope. Around 7:30 I heard this incredibly loud sound - like a jack hammer on something metal. I had heard this sound before and  rushed outside to see if the same scenario was true. A woodpecker was diligently trying to bore his way into my chimney flue to find his breakfast. Yes, its round but that's about all the resemblance to a tree that it has. Perhaps it was God's way of graciously distracting me from the stress of the week or to get my behind out of bed to be with Him in prayer rather than get that extra hour of sleep. 

I had the unfortunate obligation this week to sit in on a very long meeting speaking to the moral failure of a brother in ministry. At the height of its intensity a frog let out a huge sound from the corner of the room. There was an open window and he must have been eavesdropping. It was so loud that it stopped the meeting. One minute the room was heavy with pain; the next we were trying not to laugh out loud. Perhaps it was God's way of graciously

distracting us and reminding us that the world around us is still moving forward. Perhaps we were making things more difficult than they needed to be. Forgive. Restore. Rethink. Restart. Resume. 

Holy Week can be pretty intense for me. There is a lot to do. The self-imposed pressure to be our best as a church - to present the Christ show well - is overwhelming at times. I need to be reminded that the gospel is simple and doesn't need flash or spectacular performances. Sometimes it just needs to be a woodpecker or a frog - a distraction that diverts our attention to that which is simple but so profound, if only for a season. 

A Wondrous God

A week of struggling with a sinus infection, another week in doctoral classes, and I am back in the writing chair.

I am actually writing in the midst of a social methods and research class (bored) thinking of how God has and is answering prayer in my life. But I also write with a bit of mystery as to what is coming down my divine path.

When I travel I usually ask God to provide divine social encounters for me. It is my way of testing and affirming God's multitasking skills.

Deb and I were blessed to have some friends that drove down from Alpena, Michigan and who made the extra effort to pick us up at the airport in Chicago. On Sunday we met for a farewell luncheon and I was tasked to pick the restaurant. To go here…to go there…too many choices. I chose Red Lobster. I walked into the restaurant and who do I see? My aunt and uncle whom I have not seen for over seven years. I had just spoken of them before leaving Portland. I’m not a statistician but I think the probability extremely low of me living in the Portland area, flying home for a doctoral class, meeting friends from Alpena, and without expectation, being brought face to face with a beloved aunt and uncle, that by divine plan, I had thought about prior to coming.

I also look at my classmates and look at how God is answering prayer. One classmate and friend is a former missionary to China who is now in Jakarta, Indonesia. One classmate runs a seminary in Beijing and has been talking to me about the changes in China and working with Chinese Americans in Detroit. Another dear friend is from Chad and is in the States as a political refugee. 

I don’t know where these relationships will lead, but for me, it is evidence of God putting all these complicated human pieces together to form a divine plan. It strengthens my faith. When I pray I know that God will hear my prayer. It is a simple way that God displays his grace and his person to me.

I have yet to fly home at this point but I’m wondering what divine mystery is yet ahead of me. The open seat next to me or the wait in the airport, the person standing in the line for screening…who knows where these  relationships may lead. It certainly was a time where God displayed his sovereign hand in my life. I’m glad for the demonstration of the divine movement. It has created a stronger confidence that God has and will put me in the right place, at the right time, for the right divine purpose, to fulfill a particular plan. Oh…the wonder of God.