And what happens along the way

For several weeks now, I have been looking through our things for a sketch I want to frame and hang in the study.  I know exactly where it was squirreled away in our two previous houses.  And that is where the trail ends.  We have been in our new location now four months.  And the picture is nowhere to be found.  

Moving into another house is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle without the picture on the box to guide you.  Sometimes it even feels like all the pieces are face-down.  The tweaking continues. The desk here, the table there, and the bed against the far wall.  No, that doesn't work.  Try it between the windows.  At this point, all the boxes have been unwrapped and the contents put away.

Today, I renewed my search, looking for that large manila envelope a second and third time in all the obvious places.  And I still can't find it.

I have looked between sheets of music and on the bottom of drawers.  I have moved beyond where it should be to where it possibly could be.  And still to no avail.

But along the way, I have discovered some pictures that I didn't know I had, a couple of baby items I need to give to one of my daughters, and a handwritten autobiography that our oldest daughter composed when she was eight.

As I search, I pray for God to direct me. And in my looking, a lot happens along the way.  No rock remains unturned.  No crazy thought ignored.  I have seen too much in my life to discount what does not appear to make sense.  And I discover a lot more than what I think I am looking for.

When I need guidance in life, God does not just place a shrink-wrapped answer on my doorstep.  He directs me not just to the object, but to Himself.  Part of guidance is praying for help.  Part of the praying is waiting on the LORD.  Part of that waiting is listening to God.  Part of that listening is actively looking.  Part of that looking is the journey itself.  Part of that journey is finding another dimension of God in it.  And the outcome is not always what I thought I was looking for.

More often than not, God places something quite different on my radar, aligning my heart with His and enlarging my vision.

Flannery O'Connor's epic short story "Parker's Back," talks about how one's course can be quickly altered by the smallest details:  "It was as if a blind boy had been turned so gently in a different direction that he did not know his destination had been changed."

What are you looking for?

Realize that God may have a deeper design.  We have only to follow Him into our search step by step, drawer by drawer, box by box. 

And come to know God more through the pursuit. 

But seek first
His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things
shall be yours as well.

                    Matthew 6.33

It is not just what happens along the way,
                       but what God brings to it.

Eye has not seen,
     nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God has prepared
              for them that love Him.

               1 Corinthians 2. 9

  

Dog-eared pages

Evelyn (Judy Dench): "Nothing here has worked out quite as I expected."

Muriel (Maggie Smith):  "Most things don't.  But sometimes what happens instead is the good stuff."

                                                 --The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,
                                                    2012 movie

Melting the hardness away

It is only 20 degrees outside right now, but there is a brilliance in the sky that we have not seen in weeks.  And with all the plowing and mountains of salt spread on the roads, nothing is better than those rays from the sun to melt away the hard stubborn ice.  The air is cold, but the radiant heat from the sun is doing its wonders.

The sunshine streaming through our windows this morning helped me to see the day differently, banishing the bleakness of a long grey winter.

In my Bible reading this morning, one verse in particular stood out.

The LORD bless you and keep you:

The LORD make His face to shine upon you,

         and be gracious to you:

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,

         and give you peace.

                        Numbers 6. 24-26

I am all too aware that to seek His face in the dawning of the day helps me to see the day differently.  God melts away the hard stubborn ice of my heart, and brings me to a place where I can see the wondrous works of His hand, to dwell in His grace, no matter what is swirling around me.

And to know that spring is coming even now,

        just like His redeeming.

You have said, "Seek My face."

My heart says to You,

    "Your face, LORD, do I seek."

                          Psalm 27.8

Until then, we are stuck

We awoke to three inches of new snow this morning, a laughable amount to a northerner, until one realizes that a solid sheet of ice covers the roads underneath. Schools throughout the state were scheduled to be closed, even before it started to snow.  "O LORD, have mercy,"  southerners respond to this kind of weather.

In the north, forecasters say, "deal with it."  In the south, one is urged to "stay home."  The newsman this morning talked about a warming spell and sunny skies coming this weekend and stated "until then, we are stuck."  It is already March, but don't put away your space heater yet.

Three inches of snow is not the issue, but what lies underneath. What appears beautiful and white on the outer layer only disguises what is treacherous in reality.

What lies beneath the surface in our situations and relationships? What is the real story here?  When we watch a movie, I am sometimes interested more in the "special features" --how the movie was made -- than in the story that is portrayed.  Sometimes that is the deeper epic.

Everybody has a story underneath. 

Why is she acting that way?  What would possess him to do that? What is the slick sheet of ice that I cannot see on the surface?  There is always a reason for it.  Desperate people do desperate things.

What lies below the "fresh snow" -- deep wounds, scars that have not healed, destructive patterns of behavior, and despair? Mistakes, miscommunication, or even irrational fears?

The reality underneath impacts everything about you and everything you do.

But God does not intend for us to be paralyzed by that.
Just redeemed.

That's why Jesus came.

If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just,
and will forgive our sins
and cleanse us
     from all unrighteousness.

                  1 John 1. 9

And then
       what lies below the surface?
Exactly what is at the core of who I am
                -- a life forgiven.

Unlike Nashville in a March ice storm, I am not stuck by what has happened in my past, nor even by what I face today, but strengthened by what only God can redeem.

It starts with, "O LORD,
             have mercy on me"
and following Him
  into the forgiveness
  that is already there.

And today's forecast is .......

Before I get dressed every morning, I check my schedule for what I call "big rocks," those planned appointments and responsibilities that determine the structure of my day.  And then I check the weather forecast to make sure what I am wearing is both appropriate for what is planned and for the weather.  I look ahead to what I can know and prepare for what may not yet be on my radar.

As I go into my day, I want to wear the right shoes, the right jacket, and the right attitude.  There is rarely the time to change any of those in the middle of the day.

And I know that like my schedule and the weather, my plans are tentative, subject to change.

I have told many a frustrated young mom, "From now on, your middle name is "flexibility."   I don't just need to get used to things going awry, but embrace them when they do.  I can have every detail aligned and tied with a bow, but then comes something over which I have no control.

And that's when I realize that I am not in control, but God.  It is not even a matter of laying my carefully crafted day before Him, but sitting still --no matter the tumult around me or before me -- and accepting God's design and divine appointments.  And follow Him into His day for me.

Get on the bus, but be prepared for what God has placed on your path today.  Eyes wide open, heart softened and teachable, ready to stop where you did not plan, prepared to go down a trail you do not yet know.  God will not just direct you.  He has already gone before.  And He goes with you.

When I go into God's day for me, there are no accidents or interruptions.  Just His design.

The most profound thing I can do today is to be found in Him. That way, the focus is not on the doing, but on the being.  Because when I direct my attention to the being, the doing falls right into place. God knows that my heart needs to be right first, or the doing is always misaligned.

In God's economy, there is nothing big or small, just what is faithful.

"The real test of the saint is not preaching the gospel, but washing disciples' feet, that is, doing the things that do not count in the actual estimate of men but count everything in the estimate of God.  Paul delighted to spend himself out for God's interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost."  (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest)

The most significant thing I do today is probably not even on my radar yet.  And most likely, something I may not ever realize.

Even before I check my schedule or the weather, I check with God, praying and drinking in His Word.  Because He will direct me into His appointments.

What is before me today?

All I need is You.


... be found in Him.

         Philippians 3.9