THURSDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT
- I didn’t expect Jesus to come wearing an Alabama sweatshirt, waiting in line behind me for an hour at the DMV
- Or through a return phone call with someone I didn’t even know after the first one ended up in tears
- Or through friends giving me news that put the fear of God in me, but the same news that also meant help was on the way
- Or through laughter watching a 4-yr-old blow out Christmas tree lights
I just can’t predict how he’ll show up.
Granted, there are some places I expect him to come:
- Whenever I open his book
- In my husband’s assurances
- Through the laughter of my girls
- In songs and touches and words from my friends
But for the most part, his daily interactions with me continue to surprise. He often disguises them as distractions. (You’d think I’d catch on to that strategy by now. I haven’t.)
And sometimes he’s couched in the very midst of what seems like an overwhelming situation. I think he especially likes to surprise me there.
Can we make sense of the daily intrusions that interfere with our plans?
Are we truly open to Our Lord’s coming at every moment or are we closed to his coming to us in any way but the one we have decided upon?
~ Michael Dubruiel
I don’t want to decide ahead of time the only ways he can come.
Because I’d be wrong.
I’d rather him continue to surprise me. You, too?
* * *
Every Thursday in December: Unwrapping Jesus
10 comments:
It's so amazing how God is always there yet most of the time we miss until later on. Or, like you said, we are all of a sudden surprised, like "where did you come from", when He's been there all along. Great post!
Definitely! God can't and won't stay in our little boxes. He's so big and so amazing. He is full of surprises so we might as well just walk every moment with them. Great post, Lisa. Thanks!
Thank you Lisa for another great post! Have a joyous day ! Janet
Oh! That first bullet really got me. :)
Yes, in both the unexpected and the expected. I guess I need to learn to always expect Him in either case!
Those distractions -- reminds me of when Henri Nouwen quoted his older minister friend who said that he spent much of his life wishing he would quit getting interrupted from his work for God, until he realized that the interruptions were his work for God.
You blessed me so greatly with your unexpected and expected lists. Thank you for the early Christmas gift.
Yes we all love surprises and I do believe when we finally meet him we will be very surprised as to who he really is.
Help us to ready ourselves for the 'advent Christmas season'.
I love that He is there at every turn... it keeps me humble and alert for opportunities to be a part of His activity and to glorify Him! Great post!
Heid
Monica,
I love the Nouwen reference. Isn’t it funny how sometimes all we need to do is reframe our “interruptions” and suddenly we have a whole new ministry in front of us? God is good.
I want to be surprised by Him, too! Your words combine the everyday with personal spirituality, Lisa! I can't wait to see Jesus unwrapped in this season, when words no longer matter and the truth of Him showing up in our lives do! So awesome to unwrap together...
I had a situation just a couple of weeks ago I was telling a friend about. My words were "I don't know why I'm always surprised by God." Maybe that's a good thing though. We can't predict him as you've said and when we are no longer surprised by him maybe we are no longer able to see him.
I LOVE that idea - looking for Him - expecting Him in lots of ways and situations!
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